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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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The use of the Mental Capacity Act among hospital patients
— findings from a case study of one acute hospital trust in England | | Author(s) | Lynne Phair, Jill Manthorpe |
| Journal title | Journal of Adult Protection, vol 14, no 6, 2012 |
| Publisher | Emerald, 2012 |
| Pages | pp 259-270 |
| Source | www.emeraldinsight.com/jap.htm |
| Keywords | Mental disorder ; Rights [elderly] ; Law ; General hospitals ; In-patients ; Personnel ; Policy ; Competence ; Training [welfare work]. |
| Annotation | This study set out to present findings from a review of hospital policies and practices in one NHS Trust in England. The focus of the review was hospital staff policy and practice in safeguarding the rights of vulnerable patients. A sample of staff was surveyed to investigate their knowledge of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) in 2010. Interviews, incorporating discussion of a vignette, were undertaken with a range of staff and findings were analysed thematically. Analysis of survey data and interviews revealed limited confidence and knowledge about the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and uncertainties about its relevance to clinical practice. In relation to safeguarding, there was limited realisation of the potential of the Act to uphold the rights of patients lacking capacity and staff responsibilities. MCA training had not made a great impression. Furthermore hospital policies were inconsistent and lacked coherence. This study reveals that there are opportunities to refresh MCA and safeguarding training strategies for hospital staff but these should be accompanied by changes to culture and attention to the coherence of different procedures. Audits of MCA and safeguarding compliance can be undertaken within hospitals and a systems approach could be adopted to address any issues identified and to sustain good practice. (JL). |
| Accession Number | CPA-121214255 A |
| Classmark | E: IKR: VR: LD3: LF7: QM: QAD: DPB: QW |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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