Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
Consent: a patient of or over the age of 16 years is presumed under Scottish law to have legal capacity to consent to treatment unless he or she:
- is unable to take in and retain the information material pertaining to the decision, especially as to the likely consequences of having or not having the treatment; and/or
- is unable to weigh the information in the balance as part of a process of arriving at the decision
Principles of the Act – the treatment should:
- benefit the person;
- be the minimum necessary intervention;
- take account of past and present wishes of patient;
- restrict the patient’s freedom as little as possible;
- the patient should be encouraged to exercise any residual capacity; and relevant others (e.g. GP, relatives, carers) should be consulted.
Capacity: In order to give informed consent, the patient needs to be capable of:
- acting on decisions;
- making decisions;
- communicating decisions;
- understanding decisions;
- retaining the memory of decisions.
Remember, a patient may have capacity in relation to simple treatments, but not understand complex treatment (e.g. surgery). Also, capacity may change depending on the patient’s health status.
For specific advice about patients with learning disabilities, please contact the Learning Disability Liaison Service 0131 446 4451.
Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000
Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland: Adults with Incapacity Act
