Adults with Incapacity

This document contains several tables, each of which provides short extracts from the Acts for comparison purposes. These include:

• Who is subject to the provisions of the ASP, AWI and MHCT Acts
• A short overview of Orders, Warrants and Certificates
• The principles
• Duty to investigate / inquire
• Duty to co-operate
• Entry to premises / visits
• Medical assessment/examination/treatment
• Examination of records
• Banning orders / interdicts
• Urgent action
• Financial interventions

This learning resource is designed to support the development of knowledge and understanding of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. It aims to support and promote people’s rights in the application of the Act in health, social work and social care.

Included with this resource is an eLearning module, principles of the AWI Act, a podcast, a quick guide, a 'mythbusting' section and a resource library. It is part of TURAS and a free account is required to access the resource.

This guidance is intended to provide a useful overview for a range of practitioners tasked with safeguarding the welfare and finances of adults who lack capacity. It should help provide professionals and relatives/adults with some confidence in understanding ways to effectively manage the finances of a person who cannot manage their finances themselves. While it is not comprehensive, the guidance does cover the main options available for financial management for an adult who has been assessed as lacking capacity.

This tool provides a structured way for professionals to consider systematically whether an adult requires a formal assessment of their capacity for decision making. It is designed to support professionals to consider key factors relating to an adult’s capacity at an early point and record that information. This document is featured in the Grampian pathway for capacity assessments for protection-based decisions.

This is a quick guide to the Grampian pathway for capacity assessments for protection-based decisions. The pathway clarifies the process for seeking a capacity assessment where there are protection-based decisions linked to concerns about mental incapacity.

This pathway is designed to clarify the process for seeking a capacity assessment where there are protection-based decisions linked to concerns about mental incapacity. Included with the pathway are guidance notes, information on escalation arrangements, and appendices that provide suggested text to request capacity assessments.

This is an ASPire webinar from August 2024.  Fiona Brown from the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) is talking about the national role and remit of the OPG, and its links to Adult Support and Protection. There is also a presentation from Pearse McCusker and Lauren Gillespie concerning supported decision making. Supported decision making aims to protect a person’s ‘legal capacity’, or their right to have their will and preferences upheld.

This tool can be used where there is doubt about the adult's capacity to make and/or implement a specific decision. It aims to assist a practitioner consider the various elements involved in the decision-making process. It is not suitable for medical or complex decisions.

Supported decision-making maximises an individual’s ability to ensure that their rights, will and preferences are at the centre of all decisions that concern them. This guidance is aimed at those working with people who may have difficulty making decisions - this could be due to mental illness, dementia, a learning disability, or another condition. The guidance sets out how people can be supported to ensure that decisions made by or about them genuinely reflect their choices.