ABSTRACT
Clinical neuropsychologists adopt a functional approach to capacity assessment by looking at what an individual understands, knows, or believes they can do in the specific context at issue. The functional approach to capacity assessment emphasises the interaction between a person’s abilities and the given situation. Assessment of capacity to consent to medical treatment has received much coverage in the extant literature. J. G. Wong and colleagues present the reader with a clear and helpful decision-tree to assist clinicians in navigating the process of assessment. There may cases of individuals facing medical treatment where capacity may wax and wane. The law in relation to consent, as formulated by the Supreme Court, focuses on risk. The General Medical Council guidance indicates that it is for the treating surgeon to be satisfied as to consent by the patient.
