Advance Decision toolkit for health professionals
The Advance Decision toolkit explains the implications of the Mental Capacity Act for health professionals, and sets out good practice.
The toolkit is designed for those who might be involved in implementing a patient's Advance Decision - for example: doctors and nurses in an acute hospital setting. It may also be relevant for to health professionals working in the community setting, and general practitioners who may be approached by patients seeeking advice on drafting an Advance Decision.
Advance Decisions are statements made by adults with capacity, in which they can make decisions about all treatment they may receive. They may be used to note down their wish to refuse (but not request) life-sustaining medical treatment at a point in the future, in case the individual loses the capacity to make such decisions.
While the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) puts all Advance Decisions to refuse treatment on a legal footing, Advance Decisions that refuse life-sustaining treatment - formerly called living wills - must meet additional requirements within the MCA, and raise particular issues for health professionals.
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