Welcome

The Mental Capacity Act came into force on 1 October 2007. It has a significant impact both for patients with impaired mental capacity, and those caring for them. That includes all health and social care professionals engaged in palliative care, whatever their setting, be it a specialist unit or hospice, an acute hospital, a care home, or primary care.

This website is intended to help you understand the Act and consists of the following elements:

• Introduction to the Act
  Here you will find a brief overview of the Act that explains which patients will be affected by the Act and what the Act does.
   
• Presentations
  Here you will find a series of short narrated presentations that introduce practitioners to the Mental Capacity Act in more detail and explain what impact the Act will have on palliative care.
   
• Case Studies 
  Here you will find find a number of case studies to work through and questions to answer.  These will demonstrate how the Mental Capacity Act works in practice.
   
• Useful Links
  Here you will find some links to websites and resources relevant to the Mental Capacity Act.
   
• Good practice and resources
  Here you will find a number of useful resources to download

 
• Acknowledgements
  Here you will find the names of those who contributed content to this site

©  2008 Help the Hospices