Desuto Ltd are delighted to announce the launch our COVID-19 Mental Capacity Assessment tool.
Given that many millions of people have made the decision to self-isolate, following government advice, a large number of our most vulnerable citizens are unable to make this decision for themselves. In most cases, where they are receiving health/care support this decision will have already been made for them.
It is entirely reasonable to make the decision to isolate a person who lacks capacity to decide this for themselves. While it is undoubtedly the right thing for nearly all vulnerable people we have been reminded recently by the Department of Health and Social Care that to act lawfully we must keep in mind that “During the pandemic, the principles of the MCA and the safeguards provided by DoLS still apply.”
This business as usual approach means that in order to make a best interest decision to isolate a person from friends, family and the wider community we must first demonstrate that the person lacks capacity to make the decision themselves and this conclusion must be documented.
We have therefore been working hard to respond to the need for an interactive capacity assessment tool that considers the following decision:
“Whether to comply with Covid-19 government rules for physical/social distancing depending on personal risk category.”
We are pleased to say that we have completed the tool today and it is now live on our website at desuto.com/covid-19 .
Given the urgent need for services to implement the government guidance, We have made the decision to offer our Mental Capacity Act tools, including the COVID-19 tools, free to all health and care providers during the lockdown period.