The Mental Capacity Act 2005 embodies a legal framework to empower people to make decisions for themselves as much as possible and to protect people who may not be able to make some decisions. 

The MCA applies to anyone aged 16 or over in England and Wales, with the exception of making a Lasting Power of Attorney, making a will, or an advanced decision to refuse treatment; for these purposes, a person must be 18 or over. 

Capacity is unrelated to a person’s age, gender, condition or any aspect of their behaviour. The MCA lays down the firm principle that because a person cannot make a particular decision it does not automatically follow they cannot make the next one required of them.

Tools for Mental Capacity Assessment

Visit the Overview of IT tools page to access a template designed to support GPs to assess and record the capacity of patients to make decisions at a specific time, and to make appropriate decisions for those assessed as lacking capacity. The template has been designed by a pan-London working group of GPs, CCG adult safeguarding leads, RCGP and NHS England.