Capacity Bill 2021 Principles

Contact

Georgina Jones

Department of Health and Social Care

685167

Feedback updated 4 Feb 2021

We asked

The purpose of the consultation was to seek the views of the public and the relevant professional persons and bodies regarding the Department of Health and Social Care’s (“the Department”) development of policies that will shape the Island’s Capacity Laws.

You said

A total of 154 responses were received to the Consultation, 131 from individuals and 23 from organisations.

Overall, there was strong support of the need for a modern and clear legal framework for people who may have lost the capacity to make decisions for themselves and consensus as to what the overarching principles should look like.

We did

The results have been analysed and the written submissions have being assessed with attributing themes applied to enable the Department to properly consider each response in full for the purpose of informing the content of the Capacity Bill.

After considering the outcomes of this consultation, the Department will progress a public consultation on a draft Capacity Bill during Spring 2021.
This consultation response report is published online at: https://consult.gov.im/we_asked_you_said/

Results updated 4 Feb 2021

Capacity issues potentially affect everyone. A person’s capacity to make decisions may be impaired for a variety of reasons, such as having a significant learning disability or learning difficulties, mental health problems, suffering a stroke or head injury, or the onset of dementia.

It is essential that services for people who may have lost capacity to make decisions for themselves are underpinned by a modern and legal framework.

A framework which is clear and safeguards their individual rights, dignity and wellbeing. The core policies proposed by the Department of Health and Social Care within this consultation stage proposes the basis for the Island's new Capacity laws draw inspiration from the Mental Capacity Act 2005, in England and Wales. The DHSC considered the amendments that have been made to that Act by the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 and legislation in other neighbouring jurisdictions.

It has been a long standing intention of the DHSC to introduce legislation to improve and modernise the safeguards for those who may lack capacity and those involved in their lives.

The modernisation and establishing the common law duty on practitioners as well as providing legal governance status and protection for the health and well-being of individuals is an integral part of the modern health and social care system.

This consultation invited the views of everyone but anticipated strong interest from health and care practitioners and private, voluntary and community sector organisations working with those who lack capacity and their families.

Files:

Capacity Policy Consultation Report, 984.1 KB (PDF document)

Overview

This consultation seeks views and, where relevant, evidence to support those views, on the policies that will shape the Island’s new Capacity laws.

There are a number of questions throughout this consultation paper. They are there to guide you when responding and should not be taken to be prescriptive or restrictive; you are free to raise any points or make any comments that you believe to be relevant.

This consultation paper seeks views from everyone. We anticipate an interest from health and care practitioners, private sector organisations, voluntary and community sector organisations that provide services to people who may lack the capacity to make decisions as well as families who may also be impacted.

If you have any queries about this consultation or wish to request a paper copy of the consultation (including larger print) please contact: Georgina Jones, Department of Health and Social Care, Crookall House, Demesne Road, Douglas, IM1 3QA (georgina.jones@gov.im or 685167).

Please note the print size of this consultation on line can be increased by up to 200% for ease of reading or simply use your own screen settings to zoom in to increase the text.

This consultation is the first stage in the development and modernisation of capacity legislation for the Isle of Man. The overall purpose of this is to create a new legal framework for the making of decisions on behalf of those who do not have the capacity to make decisions.

Why your views matter

It is essential that services for people who may have lost capacity to make decisions for themselves are underpinned by a modern and legal framework. A framework which is clear and safeguards their individual rights, dignity and wellbeing.

The core policies proposed as the basis for the Island's new Capacity laws draw inspiration from the Mental Capacity Act 2005, in England and Wales. We have also considered the amendments that have been made to that Act by the Mental Capacity (Amendment) Act 2019 and legislation in other neighbouring jurisdictions.

More generally we would like your input on some of the key policy areas including;

Best interests
Powers of Attorney
Donees (individual appointed for lasting power of attorney; fit and proper person)
Court appointment (extended to cover health and welfare)
Advance decisions
Excluded decisions (those which cannot be taken on behalf of another person)
Ill-treatment or neglect
Deprivation of Liberty

Results of the Consultation

The results of this Capacity Consultation will be evaluated and published on the 30^th October 2020

What happens next