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Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000: guardianship and intervention orders: making an application: a guide for carers
- Author:
- SCOTLAND. Scottish Government
- Publisher:
- Scotland. Scottish Government
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- 52p.
- Place of publication:
- Edinburgh
This guide is for carers who are concerned that the person they care for is unable to take action or make some or all decisions in relation to their finances, personal welfare or health, due to a mental disability or severe communications difficulties, such as a stroke. It provides information on how the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 can help, the purpose of guardianship and intervention orders, considerations to make before taking forward an application for a guardianship or intervention order, deciding what powers to apply for, how to make an application, procedures and costs, and what to do next when you have been appointed.
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 explained: for people with learning disabilities, families, carers and staff
- Authors:
- HOME FARM TRUST, (Producer)
- Publisher:
- Great Britain. Department of Health
- Publication year:
- 2008
- Pagination:
- DVD
- Place of publication:
- London
‘There’s more to life than money and health’: family caregivers’ views on the role of power of attorney in proxy decisions about research participation for people living with dementia
- Authors:
- SHEPHERD Victoria, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 20(1), 2021, pp.308-325.
- Publisher:
- Sage
People living with dementia may experience difficulties when making decisions for themselves in the later stages of the condition. While there are mechanisms in England and Wales for appointing an attorney to make decisions about welfare and finances on their behalf, there are no provisions for appointing an attorney to make future decisions about research participation. This is despite a growing focus on Advanced Care Planning and other processes that provide opportunities to discuss future preferences and ensure that decisions are made in line with those preferences. This qualitative study with 15 family caregivers who had acted as research proxies explored the role of Power of Attorney in their decisions about research, and their views about extending current legal arrangements to include research. Five themes were identified: the holistic nature of decision-making; the ‘power’ of attorney; making decisions by putting yourself in their shoes; support for bringing research under the umbrella of attorney arrangements and a unifying theme of trusting relationships. Legal provisions for prospectively appointing a research proxy may encourage discussion about future wishes and so enable decisions about research to be made that are in accordance with the person’s preferences and wishes. However, further consultation with the public including people living with dementia and their families, and a range of stakeholders is needed. Providing guidance to families, people living with dementia and the wider research community may provide greater clarity and improve decision-making in the meantime. (Edited publisher abstract)
Supporting you to make decisions while caring for someone living with dementia during Coronavirus (COVID19) and beyond
- Authors:
- CENTRE FOR AGEING POPULATION STUDIES, et al
- Publisher:
- University College London
- Publication year:
- 2020
- Pagination:
- 19
- Place of publication:
- London
This document guides carers of people living with dementia through the process of making difficult decisions during the Covid-19 pandemic whilst taking into consideration wishes and preferences of those they care for and the legal aspects of making decisions. The guide covers a number of decisions carers may need to make if the person they are caring for has or is suspected to have Covid-19. These include decisions such as how to care for them if they are unable to visit them, whether they should go to hospital if they become unwell and what it means to have a do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation order. The guide also provides useful tips for carers such as the Covid-19 symptoms to watch out for which may differ to the commonly recognised symptoms, where to find help and support when making decisions and how to look after yourself as a carer. Topics covered include: thinking about any existing advance care plans; wishes and preferences; legal aspects of decision making; managing care at home; supporting someone in a care home; admitting them to hospital if they are very unwell; support for carers; and how carers can look after themselves during coronavirus and beyond. (Edited publisher abstract)
Agency in dementia care: systematic review and meta-ethnography
- Authors:
- BOSCO Alessandro, et al
- Journal article citation:
- International Psychogeriatrics, 31(5), 2019, pp.627-642.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge Journals
Objectives:Dementia often limits the agency of the person to such an extent that there is need for external support in making daily life decisions. This support is usually provided by family members who are sometimes legally empowered to engage in decision-making on behalf of the person for whom they care. However, such family carers receive little or no information on how to best provide support when there is a lack of capacity. This may have an impact on the agency of the person with dementia. This review explores the experience of agency in people living with dementia., DESIGN: A systematic search was conducted on IBSS, MedLine, PsychINFO, EMBASE, and CINAHL. Two independent researchers screened the studies and conducted the quality appraisal. This study used meta-ethnography for data analysis. As part of the synthesis, the study identified behavioural mechanisms underlying the process of decision-making and looked at how the support of carers comes into play in making deliberate choices., RESULTS: The meta-ethnography involved 20 studies. Three levels of third-order constructs were identified, each describing a decision-making pathway and reflecting the degree of autonomy of the person with dementia: autonomous decision-making, shared decision-making, and pseudo decision-making. Findings highlight those inter-relational processes that promote or negatively impact on the agency of people with dementia. CONCLUSIONS: This review will provide health and social care personnel with an understanding of the role of the carer in the decision-making process, and therefore which mechanisms need to be promoted or discouraged through training. (Edited publisher abstract)
What do we know about the application of the Mental Capacity Act (2005) in healthcare practice regarding decision-making for frail and older people? A systematic literature review
- Authors:
- HINSLIFF-SMITH Kathryn, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Health and Social Care in the Community, 25(2), 2017, pp.295-308.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
In England and Wales, decision-making in cases of uncertain mental capacity is regulated by the Mental Capacity Act 2005. The Act provides a legal framework for decision-making for adults (16 and over) who are shown to lack capacity and where best interest decisions need to be made on their behalf. Frail older people with cognitive impairments represent a growing demographic sector across England and Wales for whom the protective principles of the Act have great relevance, as they become increasingly dependent on the care of others. However, while the Act articulates core principles, applying the Act in everyday healthcare contexts raises challenges for care providers in terms of interpretation and application. This paper presents a review of the published evidence documenting the use of the Act in healthcare practice, with particular reference to frail older people. The aim was to identify, review and critically evaluate published empirical studies concerned with the implementation and application of the Act in healthcare settings. A systematic approach was undertaken with pre-determined exclusion and inclusion criteria applied across five electronic bibliographic databases combined with a manual search of specific journals. This review reports on 38 empirical sources which met the inclusion criteria published between 2005 and 2013. From the 38 sources, three descriptive themes were identified: knowledge and understanding, implementation and tensions in applying the Act, and alternative perspectives of the Act. There is a need for improved knowledge and conceptualisation to enable successful incorporation of the Act into everyday care provision. Inconsistencies in the application of the Act are apparent across a variety of care settings. This review suggest staff need more opportunities to engage, learn and implement the Act, in order for it to have greater resonance to their individual practice and ultimately benefit patient care. (Publisher abstract)
Meeting the challenge. Guide 1: your rights when you are living in the community: supporter version
- Author:
- MENCAP
- Publisher:
- Mencap
- Publication year:
- 2015
- Pagination:
- 9
- Place of publication:
- London
Outlines the rights of people with a learning disability when living in the community. This guide aims to help supporters understand the rights of people with a learning disability, so that they can get the right services and support to meet their needs. This will help keep them safe, happy and healthy and make sure they know when things are not going the way that they should and are able to take action. The guide sets out the legal framework, outlining the Human Rights Act and the Mental Capacity Act, describes what good support should look like, and explains what a person should do if they experience abuse. (Edited publisher abstract)
What about us? a case for legal recognition of interdependence in informal care relationships
- Author:
- CLOUGH Beverley
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 36(2), 2014, pp.129-148.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
As the number of people being cared for by relatives and friends rises, it is vitally important to examine whether legal frameworks surrounding care and treatment sufficiently account for the realities of informal caring. This paper undertakes such an analysis through the lens of care ethics, arguing that relational and contextual aspects of caring ought to be brought further to the fore. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 forms the central focus of criticism and it is suggested that the legislation and case law surrounding best interests decisions fails to heed the interdependence which permeates informal caring. In contrast to earlier care theories, however, the importance of retaining a focus on the rights and capabilities of individuals within the web of caring relationships is emphasised. (Publisher abstract)
Facilitating decision-making by people with dementia: is spousal support gendered?
- Author:
- BOYLE Geraldine
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Social Welfare and Family Law, 35(2), 2013, pp.227-243.
- Publisher:
- Taylor and Francis
- Place of publication:
- Philadelphia, USA
The Mental Capacity Act 2005 clarifies the decision-making rights of people lacking capacity (such as people with dementia) and requires that carers and professionals support the individual in making decisions. This paper reports key findings from a qualitative study in England (funded by the Economic and Social Research Council) which examined the social process of everyday decision-making by twenty-one married couples living with dementia. The author identifies the various support strategies used by spouses when seeking to facilitate decision-making by their partners with dementia and highlights how these varied by gender. The paper examines the role of gendered support in influencing whether people with dementia are enabled to exercise their decision-making capacity and, in turn, if their decisional autonomy is facilitated. As the Mental Capacity Act lacks a gender perspective, the author recommends that its ongoing implementation should be strongly gendered to ensure that women with dementia receive the support necessary to exercise their capacity and agency. (Edited publisher abstract)
Can clinicians and carers make valid decisions about others' decision-making capacities unless tests of decision-making competence and capacity include emotionality and neurodiversity?
- Authors:
- MACKENZIE Robin, WATTS John
- Journal article citation:
- Tizard Learning Disability Review, 16(3), 2011, pp.43-51.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
This paper offers academic criticism and explanation for the lack of knowledge of many of those involved in capacity assessments, especially non-professionals such as carers of the learning disabled. It suggests that current guidance for capacity assessments do not take into account issues of emotionality. The Mental Capacity Act 2005 Code of Practice suggests that healthcare professionals and carers may undertake assessments of decision-making capacity, yet the guidance it provides for their doing so overlooks salient issues. Many of those involved in the daily lives of those, who may lack decision-making capacity such as the learning disabled, demented, mentally ill and neurodiverse, must decide whether to respect their decisions as competent, or to disregard the decisions on the grounds of incompetence and to act in the person's best interests. Many will lack training in their clinical and legal responsibilities and liabilities. It is therefore vital that they are protected by an increased knowledge of mental capacity legislation and practice.