Is the Mental Capacity Act Fulfilling its Aims?

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA) gave nurses caring for people with impaired capacity to make decisions, a framework within which to work and made provision for when patients cannot consent to their care. The act should have taken away the uncertainty associated with caring for patients who lack capacity but evidence suggests it has not yet fulfilled it aims. The first of this two-part series discusses the factors that drove the development of the MCA and explores to what extent its aims have been fulfilled. The second article considers possible reasons for this and offers recommendations for practice and education.