ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a very brief overview of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) for England and Wales. Essentially mental capacity is the ability to use information in order to reason and make an informed decision. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines on decision-making and mental capacity state that “effective assessments are thorough, proportionate to the complexity, importance and urgency of the decision, and performed in the context of a trusting and collaborative relationship”. The MCA is very specific about “the fact that a person is able to retain the information relevant to a decision for a short period only does not prevent him from being regarded as able to make the decision”. The person must be able to weigh information relevant to the decision and use it to come to a decision. The person must be able to communicate his decision, but this can be by any means possible, as long it is reliable.
