The Mental Capacity Act 2005 and Its Influences on Social Work Practice: Debate and Synthesis

Abstract

The newly implemented Mental Capacity Act 2005 in England and Wales enshrines much of the practice established under case law to safeguard people who lack ability to make specific decisions, enhances personal autonomy and enables people to make advance decisions to refuse treatment. It introduces new proxydecision-making roles to address health, welfare and financial matters and specialist advocacy for people who do not have family or friends where major health and welfare decisions are to be made. This article outlines the scope of the Mental Capacity Act 2005, considers some of the implications of the Act for social work practitioners around the areas of planning and working with others in new roles, and clarifies some of their responsibilities. The article concludes that the potential for good practice will need to be supported by professional reflection and service monitoring.

Judgements of Social Care Professionals on Elder Abuse Referrals: A Factorial Survey

“…Compared to the fields of child protection and domestic violence, adult protection is relatively new. Professionals, and particularly social workers, undertake a range of functions that can be seen as conflicting (Manthorpe et al, 2008;Lymbery and Postle, 2010). Definitions and concepts remain ambiguous and policies are open to interpretation.…”

Factors used in the detection of elder financial abuse: A judgement and decision-making study of social workers and their managers

“…Relatively new legislation in England and Wales (Mental Capacity Act 2005) has raised awareness of the role of professionals in decision making when an individual does not have capacity (TSO, 2007;Manthorpe et al 2008). Hence it is perhaps unsurprising that mental capacity should be an important cue helping social workers to answer the question, 'Is this an instance of elder financial abuse?…”

Small Acts of Care: Exploring the Potential Impact of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 on Day-to-Day Support

“…While 'reasonableness' might be open to debate and is as subjective and value laden a concept as 'best interests' (Manthorpe et al, 2008a), evidence that capacity has been assessed may be provided through records (see below). The two key elements of Section 5 are that an assessment of capacity, of some form, has been made and there is 'reasonableness'.…”

“…The two key elements of Section 5 are that an assessment of capacity, of some form, has been made and there is ‘reasonableness’. While ‘reasonableness’ might be open to debate and is as subjective and value laden a concept as ‘best interests’ (Manthorpe et al , 2008a), evidence that capacity has been assessed may be provided through records (see below).…”