Would people like to contribute brief descriptions of one issue/problem they have with the Mental Capacity Act?

When Kate Allatt recently tweeted 'about to meet with Jenny Kitzinger', I immediately thought 'I wonder if the meeting, will lead to a collaboration?'. Both of them, have an interest in 'coma issues'.

That prompted me, to wonder if I could get a bit of 'collaboration' around which issue or problem, people who are interested in or work with the Mental Capacity Act, find most significant. I tweeted about the idea at:

https://twitter.com/MikeStone2_EoL/status/1093853379758034946

I would like people to describe, in roughly 200 words or less, ONE issue or problem, which they themselves perceive with the Mental Capacity Act and its interpretation and implementation. To make the replies more useful, for 'analysis', even if people wish to remain anonymous, it would still help if people would supply 'their 'role'': so 'social worker', or whatever.

People can post their 200-word pieces here, or send them to me, and my plan is that if I get a worthwhile number of responses, I will collate them all in a PDF and I'll post it here in this thread.

My own 'submission', which you will also find in the tweet, is the following:

The biggest single problem I see, is that the ‘core requirement’ of satisfactory best-interests decision-making, as defined by section 4 of the MCA, is an understanding of section 4(6): which, expressed concisely, amounts to ‘the best-interests decision should be founded on an understanding of the patient’s individuality’. That, logically, implies that the people who understand enough to make the most legally-defensible best-interests decisions, are the close family and close friends of the mentally-incapable person – not the professionals, who usually do not understand the person as an individual.

Professionals, professional representative bodies, and their employing organisations, seem entirely incapable of coming to terms with this piece of obvious simple logic!

Mike Stone: former family-carer during end-of-life-at-home

[log in to view email address] @MikeStone2_EoL