Evaluation of the Mental Capacity Assessment Support Tool (MCAST)
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of the Mental Capacity Assessment Support Tool (MCAST)
IRAS ID
189551
Contact name
Mark J Jayes
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 9 months, 27 days
Research summary
Can a toolkit support hospital staff to carry out high quality mental capacity assessments for patients with stroke or dementia and identify which patients have communication difficulties and how to support their needs during capacity assessments?
The Mental Capacity Act (2005) requires hospital staff to assess whether patients have the mental capacity (ability) to make informed decisions, when there is reason to believe they may lack this ability. Mental capacity assessment is challenging, especially when it involves patients with communication difficulties, who need support to understand information about decisions and express their choices. Inaccurate capacity assessment puts patients at risk, either of being excluded from decision-making when it is wrongly assumed they lack capacity, or of making uninformed decisions when it is incorrectly assumed they have capacity.
A Mental Capacity Assessment Support Toolkit (MCAST) has been developed to support hospital staff to carry out mental capacity assessments for patients with stroke or dementia diagnoses. The MCAST includes a support tool to help staff plan high quality capacity assessments, a communication screening tool to enable staff to identify patients’ communication difficulties, and a pack of materials for staff to use to support patients’ communication needs.
This project will test the MCAST during capacity assessments for 20 acute inpatients at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The project will investigate whether the communication screen gives accurate and reliable outcomes and whether capacity assessments are more compliant with the law when staff use the toolkit. Staff will be asked if they find the MCAST useful and easy to use and whether they feel more confident about assessing capacity when they use the toolkit. Patients will be asked if they find the toolkit processes and materials acceptable and helpful.This research is funded by the National Institute for Health Research and Health Education England.
REC name
Yorkshire & The Humber - Bradford Leeds Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
15/YH/0468
Date of REC Opinion
12 Nov 2015
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion