Following Acquired Brain Injury, the person may lack capacity to consent to care and treatment due to cognitive and/or communication impairments.
The AWI Act provides authority to deliver care and treatment for those who are deemed to lack capacity to consent. A person, who requires care and treatment, is deemed to have ‘capacity to consent’ unless there is evidence to the contrary. The AWI Act 2000 should be used where the person requires care and/or treatment but is deemed ‘incapable’ of giving informed consent. For example those with Acquired Brain Injury may require treatment for seizures, dysphagia, infections, pain etc. This treatment is administered under the AWI Act. Interventions such as enteral feeding using a Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy (PEG) or Naso-Gastric tube are also covered by the Act and may be necessary for people who have severe dysphagia.
A person cannot be given medical treatment without consent unless in an emergency situation when it is deemed to be lifesaving and in this situation it is provided under Common Law.
If there are doubts regarding the person’s capacity to make decisions about some aspects of their care and treatment, then capacity should be formally assessed. The assessor must follow the usual guiding principles of the AWI Act.
Please click on the links below for more information:
Assessment of Capacity to Consent to Care and Treatment
NHS Education for Scotland: ‘Think Capacity Think Consent’
Decision Making and Consent: Ethical Guidance (General Medical Council)
Seeking patient consent toolkit (British Medical Association)