Mental Capacity Act principle 1: Assume capacity

This video examines the first Mental Capacity Act principle, that every adult has the right to make his or her own decisions and must be assumed to have capacity to do so unless it is proved otherwise. Learn more:

You cannot assume that someone cannot make a decision for themselves just because they have a particular medical condition or disability.

The Mental Capacity Act has been in force since 2007 and applies to England and Wales. The primary purpose of the MCA is to promote and safeguard decision-making within a legal framework. It does this by empowering people to make decisions for themselves wherever possible, and by protecting people who lack capacity by providing a flexible framework that places individuals at the heart of the decision-making process - allowing people to plan ahead for a time in the future when they might lack the capacity, for any number of reasons.

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