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Understanding mental capacity
Understanding mental capacity

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3 Who is the decision maker?

The answer to the question ‘Who is the decision maker?’ can be expressed as a continuum as illustrated in the figure below.

A continuum diagram made up of three blocks in front of an arrow running from left to right.
Figure 2 Who is the decision maker continuum

On one hand there are people who can make decisions for themselves given the right help. In other cases, more formal processes are needed. We consider these cases now.