On 11 August 2020, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (“NICE”) published a Quality Standard on ‘Decision making and mental capacity’ (Quality Standard [QS194]). Quality Standards are reviewed by NICE every August and have the aim of helping practitioners improve the quality of care they provide or commission. Quality Standards are endorsed by the Department of Health and Social Care.
The Quality Standard on ‘Decision making and mental capacity’ was developed before the coronavirus pandemic and is intended to support quality improvement as services return to normal. The Quality Standard covers decision making in people aged 16 and over, using health and social care services who may lack capacity to make their own decisions (now or in the future). It aims to support implementation of the aims and principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and the relevant Codes of Practice.
A copy of the NICE Quality Standard can be accessed here.
