Overview

This free course, Understanding mental capacity, describes the principles and criteria underpinning the assessment of mental capacity and decision making in the UK. The course begins by looking at what mental capacity – and the lack of it – means. You will be introduced to various groups of people who are more likely to lack mental capacity, but you will also learn why it is relevant to everyone. You will look at what can be done to help someone to make a decision themselves and the principles and steps that enable people to judge, fairly, whether someone has capacity or not. You will be introduced to the legislation in the UK and will see how it supports and protects people who may lack capacity.The course will appeal to those who support people aged 16 or over and who have to make decisions in order to address the variety of interpretation and inconsistent application of services in everyday provision. It will explain the law and how it is applied in a practical way for those making important decisions about other’s lives, such as health and social care staff, police, banks and insurance industry workers, and retailers.Enrolling on the course will give you the opportunity to earn an Open University digital badge. Badges are not accredited by The Open University but they're a great way to demonstrate your interest in the subject and commitment to your career, and to provide evidence of continuing professional development.Once you are signed in, you can manage your digital badges online from My OpenLearn. In addition, you can download and print your OpenLearn statement of participation - which also displays your Open University badge. This course is accredited by the CPD Standards Office. It can be used to provide evidence of continuing professional development and on successful completion of the course you will be awarded 24 CPD points. Evidence of your CPD achievement is provided on the free Statement of Participation awarded on completion.Anyone wishing to provide evidence of their enrolment on this course is able to do so by sharing their Activity Record on their OpenLearn Profile, which is available before completion of the course and earning of the Statement of Participation.

Syllabus

Introduction and guidance
Introduction and guidance
What is a badged course?
Acknowledgements
Week1Week 1: What is mental capacity?
Introduction
1 What is mental capacity?
1.1 Three points about mental capacity
1.2 Mental capacity and organisations: differences and similarities
2 Who and how many lack mental capacity?
2.1 Who else is affected?
3 How does time affect mental capacity?
3.1 Mental capacity can fluctuate
This week’s quiz
Summary
References
Acknowledgements
Week2Week 2: Decisions, decisions
Introduction
1 Types of decisions
1.1 Exceptions
1.2 How do we make decisions?
2 Unwise decisions
3 Who is the decision maker?
3.1 Shared decision making
3.2 Who decides on your behalf?
3.3 How is a decision made on behalf of someone else?
3.4 Other types of decisions and supports
This week’s quiz
Summary
References
Acknowledgements
Week3Week 3: Mental capacity and the law
Introduction
1 How the law developed
2 Mental capacity principles
2.1 Mental capacity England and Wales
2.2 Mental capacity in Scotland
2.3 Mental capacity in Northern Ireland
3 Applying the legal principles
3.1 The Code of Practice
3.2 Values, attitudes and actions
This week’s quiz
Summary
References
Acknowledgements
Week4Week 4: Assessing mental capacity
Introduction
1 Assessments in care
1.1 Assessing mental capacity
1.2 Applying the test for assessment of mental capacity
1.3 The test for mental capacity
2 Who assesses?
2.1 What about more complex situations?
3 Doing an assessment
3.1 ‘Rules’ for supporting and assessing
This week’s quiz
Summary
References
Acknowledgements
Week5Week 5: Children and young people
Introduction
1 Decisions, children and young people
1.1 At what age is it legal?
1.2 Parental responsibility
1.3 Competence to give consent
2 Children, young people and decisions
2.1 Children under 16
2.2 Young people aged 16 and 17 years
2.3 Decisions in the Family Court and the Court of Protection
3 Exceptional situations
3.1 Child sexual exploitation
3.2 Mental capacity, mental health services and the law
This week’s quiz
Summary
References
Acknowledgements
Week6Week 6: Learning disabilities
Introduction
1 Capacity and people with learning disabilities
1.1 Learning disabilities and communication
1.2 Cultural issues
2 Decisions, rights and responsibilities
2.1 Decisions that require consent
2.2 Decision making and resources
2.3 Deprivation of liberty
2.4 Deprivation of liberty safeguards (DoLS)
3 Exceptional situations
3.1 Marriage, hate and death
3.2 Extreme measures
This week’s quiz
Summary
Further reading
References
Acknowledgements
Week7Week 7: Older people
Introduction
1 Getting old
1.1 Getting old: what do we expect?
1.2 Balancing risk with well-being
2 Decision making and older people
2.1 The concept of personhood
2.2 Three common decisions
3 Exceptional situations
3.1 Power of attorney
3.2 Advance decisions
3.3 Legal authority and the courts
This week’s quiz
Summary
Further reading
References
Acknowledgements
Week8Week 8: Mental capacity: the future
Introduction
1 How the law is changing
2 What have you learned?
3 What do you want to do next?
4 Next steps
This week’s quiz
Summary
Tell us what you think
Further reading
Acknowledgements

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