The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman, and Minister of State for Disability, Anne Rabbitte, announced that the 26th of April 2023 will be set as the day for the abolition of wardship, and the introduction of a new system of tiered decision-making supports.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) (Amendment) Act 2022, which was signed into law by the President on 17 December 2022.
The Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act (2015) is about supporting decision-making and maximising a person’s capacity to make decisions. This Act applies to everyone and is relevant to all health and social care services.
This new Act will assist in complying with human-rights obligations contained in the Constitution of Ireland, the European Convention on Human Rights, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Health and social care workers are expected to take all practical steps to help a person make a decision for themselves. If a person is found to lack decision-making capacity in one matter, this will not necessarily mean that the person also lacks capacity in another matter. The Act recognises that decision-making capacity can fluctuate, is issue-specific and time specific.
A person’s capacity to make a specific decision is their ability to:
- understand information and facts relevant to the decision;
- retain that information long enough to make a voluntary choice;
- use or weigh up that information as part of the process of making the decision; and
- communicate the decision by any means, including by assistive technology
If there is a valid reason to assess a person's decision-making capacity, a functional approach must be use
Typical Course content
- What is the purpose of the act
- Legal Requirements
- Capacity, what is it and what does it mean under the act
- Guiding principles
- Decision Support Service, role and function
- 3 decision agreements and Advanced Healthcare Directive, and Enduring Power of Attorney
- What does the Act mean for Social and Health Care staff
Certification
On Completion of this course, participants are issued with an NB Training Services certificate of attendance.
Virtual online training via ZOOM or MS Teams is now available
