Assessment of Mental Capacity: A Practical Guide for Doctors and Lawyers 4th ed

The implementation of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 has been found by a House of Lords Select Committee to suffer from a lack of awareness and understanding among professionals, and consequently from failure to follow the duties imposed on them by the Act. This book aims to support doctors and lawyers by giving them:-

• a fuller understanding of the law in all situations where an assessment of capacity may be needed
• clarification of the roles of both professions
• an aid to communication both between them and with the person being assessed.

Written by experts from a variety of disciplines, this book combines a precise statement of the law with a practical, jargon-free approach to provide guidelines on a range of issues, from capacity to form intimate personal relationships to capacity to consent to medical treatment. The fourth edition has been updated and expanded to take account of:

• recent case law
• revision of the Mental Health Act 1983: Code of Practice
• the rising prominence of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
• current good practice.

It provides an essential source of guidelines and information, including extracts from the Act and the Code of Practice and is an indispensable tool for health and legal professionals.