ABSTRACT
Assessing people’s mental capacity, and potentially making decisions for them, raises strong feelings in professionals that can be linked to their own ethical code and how they view the rights of others. Some people worry about putting someone through a capacity assessment and try not to question someone’s right to make the decision himself, for example, when someone has a strong desire to return home on discharge from hospital. Carrying out an assessment of mental capacity need not have negative connotations. It often gives someone the space and time to discuss his point of view, which he may not have had otherwise, or sometimes to show that he has regained capacity if it was previously found that he lacked capacity to make a decision. Due to the nature of assessing someone’s capacity and potentially taking away her right to make a decision about her own life, numerous ethical issues arise.
