Adult Social Care Glossary, v 0.6

The ability of a person to make a decision about their own care, including:

- decisions that affect daily life (for example, when to get up, what to wear or whether to go to the doctor when feeling ill, and more serious or significant decisions)
- decisions that may have legal consequences for them or others (for example, agreeing to have medical treatment, buying goods or making a will).

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 defines a lack of mental capacity as when 'a person lacks capacity in relation to a matter if at the material time he is unable to make a decision for himself in relation to the matter because of an impairment of, or a disturbance in the functioning of, the mind or brain'.

Health professionals should follow the Department of Health's advice on consent. If a person does not have capacity to make decisions, health and social care practitioners should follow the code of practice that accompanies the Mental Capacity Act and the supplementary code of practice on deprivation of liberty safeguards.