The issues and challenges that arise for clinicians when working with vulnerable people whose sexual functioning may be compromised because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain. Capacity is treatment specific - it depends on the treatment to be performed. From an ethical perspective , the principle of autonomy (the right to self determination) determines that consent must be obtained before health care is provided, and that any refusal of health care must be respected (McDonald & Then 2019). The legal framework practitioner psychologists should be aware of and use when assessing a person’s mental capacity to consent to sexual relations. Most adults are presumed to have the capacity to consent but there is a legal framework outlining how capacity is assessed in adults, young people and children across the UK. If the treatment is risky / has potential serious side effects / is complicated, it may require a greater degree of understanding to make a decision than … If you're caring for someone who might lack capacity to consent, or decline a treatment or proposed course of action, you need to assess their capacity first. Capacity to consent to chemotherapy? This case is a timely illustration of the unenviable task faced by judges, doctors and mental health professionals during Lockdown. This policy is intended to: 1. inform physicians of the requirements to obtain informed consent from patients; 2. guide physicians in Saskatchewan when determining if their patients have capacity to consent to treatment; Generally consent is not required to carry out emergency treatment on an adult without capacity where the treatment is needed to meet imminent risk to the adult’s life or health. A competent adult patient is someone who has the capacity to make treatment decisions on their own Case study The patient, 52 years of age, presented to the general practitioner for the first time. Tools for capacity assessment and unacknowledged sources of vulnerability are discussed, and the practical gaps in current informed consent requirements related to impaired capacity and potential vulnerability are described. 1 July 2020 by Rosalind English. The Capacity to Consent to Treatment Instrument (CCTI) is a standardized psychometric instrument designed to assess the treatment consent capacity (TCC) of adults. If deemed to have capacity, a person is able to provide or withhold consent for examination, treatment and/or care. The CCTI evaluates five different consent abilities or standards and has been shown to be a reliable and valid measure of TCC. It indicates that a person is able to make a decision about their own care and treatment. It is the responsibility of the researcher, with appropriate consultation with others, to decide whether someone has the capacity to consent. Consent may be implied or explicit, and patients either have or do not have the capacity to give their consent to treatment. This can only be overruled in exceptional circumstances. As a professional, you will need to assess whether your patient has the capacity to consent. You can only be given compulsory mental health treatment if you: are on a treatment order do not haven capacity to give informed consent to treatment, or are refusing the proposed treatment, and the authorised psychiatrist is satisfied the treatment they proposed is the least restrictive treatment. These may relate to, for example, carrying out an assessment of the capacity of the service user to give consent, uncertainty regarding the age at which consent may be given, what legal issues arise regarding children of unmarried or divorced parents, children of minor parents, wards of court, and so on. capacity to consent to their own medical treatment. It conducts hearings under the Mental Health Act, the Health Care Consent Act, the Personal Health Information Protection Act, the Substitute Decisions Act and the Mandatory Blood Testing Act People aged 16 or over are entitled to consent to their own treatment. Patients can either give or refuse consent. Capacity and Consent in Health Care. Doctors should presume that adults have the capacity to consent to or refuse a proposed treatment unless it can be established that they lack that capacity. Valid consent should be obtained from a person with capacity prior to examining them or providing medical treatment. 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