Understanding mental capacity
3.3 How is a decision made on behalf of someone else?
According to an idea first put forward by a community learning disability nurse, Jenny White, there are at least seven principles that should be followed by someone who is making a decision on behalf of a person who lacks mental capacity (Mencap, n.d.). These are listed in Table 1 along with a mnemonic by which they can be remembered.
Table 1 The seven factors
| R | Consider whether the person can Regain capacity |
| E | Encourage and Enable participation of the adult throughout the decision |
| F | Take into account the adult’s past and current Feelings about this decision |
| L | Is Life-sustaining treatment an issue? |
| E | Show Equal consideration and non-discrimination |
| C | Consider all relevant Circumstances |
| T | Take the views of others into account |
OpenLearn - Understanding mental capacity
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