Assessing Capacity to Make Decisions about Long-term Care Needs: Ethical Perspectives and Practical Challenges in Hospital Social Work

In this paper I will examine how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 regulates the assessment of decision-making capacity in England and Wales. I will argue that there are difficulties in reconciling the Act with how people make decisions in practice. I will explore how ideas from the ethics of care and fr...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ethics and social welfare 2012-12, Vol.6 (4), p.411-417
Main Author: Sexton, Martin
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Autonomy
Decision Making
Decisions
England
Ethics
Ethics of care
Hospital discharge
Hospitals
Legislation
Long Term Care
Medical Decision Making
Mental capacity
Phenomenology
Social Work
Social work ethics
Wales
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Summary:In this paper I will examine how the Mental Capacity Act 2005 regulates the assessment of decision-making capacity in England and Wales. I will argue that there are difficulties in reconciling the Act with how people make decisions in practice. I will explore how ideas from the ethics of care and from phenomenology can be used to take better account of how capacity flows from a person's relationships as well as their individual abilities. I will conclude by discussing some of the ethical issues that have arisen in my assessments of decision-making capacity and how I have tried to respond.
ISSN:1749-6535
1749-6543
DOI:10.1080/17496535.2012.735817