The Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (as Amended)

This two-day course will provide participants with the skills  and knowledge required to implement the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act (as amended) into everyday practice. As this legislation is a key element in the ratification of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities it also aims to support the learner to develop an understanding of the Convention. In doing so it focuses on the importance of building decision making capacity and the concept of will and preference.

Health and Social Care Practitioners support people to make some of the most significant decisions in their lives with the potential to make life altering differences. By using the Assisted Decision Making (Capacity) Act services can makes those life changing decisions possible for everyone not just for those who make decisions independently.  

Placing the values and wishes of the person at the forefront and affording the person dignity of risk is common across services however using a process as directed by law can be a daunting prospect. The course aims to provide frontline practitioners with the confidence to interact with the law on a daily basis and in doing so provide support in accordance with the supported person’s will and preference, values and beliefs.

A key component of this course is the practical application of the law, participants are encouraged to work through scenarios which are typical of cases they encounter on a daily basis

 The course content is based on the Codes of Practice of the Act, the National Consent Policy as updated in January 2024, peer reviewed articles and case law from Ireland and  the jurisdiction of England and Wales entailing examples of good practice in building and assessing capacity as identified by presiding judges. Participants are also facilitated to explore the decision support arrangements as set out in the Act.