Michael Lyne & Sally Lee 
Demystifying Mental Capacity 
A guide for health and social care professionals

This very practical book helps professionals and students to engage critically with their practice by addressing mental capacity and adult safeguarding. Its accessible and easy to navigate format include key topics surrounding assisted decision making, deprivation of liberty, and consent. 

Table of Content

Chapter 1: Reflecting on values and bias within mental capacity decision making – Lee-Ann Fenge & Sally Lee

Chapter 2: The history and current context of mental capacity legislation and policy – Michael Lyne & Sally Lee

Chapter 3: Mental capacity legislation, guidance and case law (1): The Mental Capacity Act and the concept of mental capacity – Alex Ruck Keene

Chapter 4: Mental capacity, legislation, guidance and case law (2): Best interests – Alex Ruck Keene

Chapter 5: Supported Assisted Decision-Making – Anna Volkmer & Tim Farmer

Chapter 6: Deprivation of liberty: a matter of human rights – Sally Lee & Michael Lyne

Chapter 7: THe Mental Capacity Act in clinical decisions for care and treatment – Karen Grimshaw

Chapter 8: MCA and the role of the Office of the Public Guardian – Office of the Public Guardian

Chapter 9: Conclusion and ways forward – Keith Brown, Lee-Ann Fenge, Sally Lee & Karen Grimshaw

Appendix 1: Specific tips and hints on how to put the MCA Code of Practice (2007) General Communication Guidance into practice

Appendix 2: Content of communication skills training in dementia care

Appendix 3: Guidelines for making written information accessible to different clinical populations

Appendix 4: How case law defines the meaning of deprivation of liberty – Michael Lyne

Appendix 5: The Care Quality Commission (CQC) – Teresa Kippax

About the author

Keith holds professional qualifications in nursing, social work and teaching; and academic qualifications in nursing, social work and management. He has worked in the education and training field for over 30 years, working for three universities and three local authority social work departments. Currently he is the Director of the National Centre for Post-Qualifying Social Work and Professional Practice at Bournemouth University and the Director of the Centre for Leadership Impact and Management at Bournemouth. In 2005 he was awarded the Linda Ammon Memorial Award, sponsored by the then Department for Education and Skills, a prize awarded to the individual making the greatest contribution to training and education in the UK. His main academic interest lies in the fusion of academia and professional practice to help improve professional thinking and practice.