Appealing capacity assessment

[Oatmilklatte1]

Looking for some info please, this relates to my FIL who is currently in hospital (in Scotland).

He has had Parkinson’s disease for a number of years and has been cared for by my MIL and SIL. He has carers in 4 x per day. MIL and SIL have both been struggling to care for him and live in constant worry as he often trips, puts gas on, spills hot drinks etc.

FIL got admitted to hospital for a minor health concern but has been in ever since as the family have requested a capacity assessment. Their feeling is that he is no longer safe at home and should be in a care home.

A capacity assessment has been carried out and he is deemed to have capacity. The family are shocked by this and feel they cannot cope having him home. As he has been deemed to have capacity and his wish is to go home, he will be going home.

Is there any possibility to request a second opinion on a capacity assessment? What would happen if MIL and SIL refused to care for FIL? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I can’t answer your question, but when the social worker did a capacity assessment on MIL, apparently he asked questions like who is the PM, what is your address, etc. He found she had capacity. We know from DD, who definitely doesn’t have capacity, that the test should be the ability to comprehend, process, retain and be able to communicate back complex information - because it’s frequently done properly on her.

I doubt very much MIL could do that, because if we asked her, when she was in hospital, what did the doctor say to her, she had no idea! At times, DH rang her up at home and she was confused - she couldn’t formulate a sentence. She was Ok, when she rang him up, presumably because it was at a time of her choosing and preparedness!

MIL & SIL cannot stop FIL from making unwise decisions or from him returning to his own home.

A capacity assessment is purely to make sure that your Fil understands the consequences of the decision he's making.

Maybe it’s more the functional assessment aspect that’s needed vs mental capacity.

Thank you. I will ask the social worker regarding a functional assessment however, as he is deemed as having capacity this would only impact his care package at home I’d imagine

He may have capacity to make his own decision and is aware of the risks, what does he want to do, has anyone asked him if he feels safe at home. Like pp says he needs a functional assessment and a home visit from a therapist to assess his risk when the carers are not there like turning the gas supply off, removing rugs, adapted cutlery and crockery, care alarm,. You can say you are concerned about his safety and worry this will result in him injuring himself.

Mil and sil cannot force him into a carehome but they can refuse to care for him and request a carers assessment

If they feel that strongly, they should advise that they are withdrawing all caring and to do so will be moving out. Is there a family member they can stay with or a local hotel? They don't have to give any more information than that.
They wouldn't discharge him to an empty house.

We got DFIL a capacity assessmentafter a rather stern phone call from me when I pointed out that the person carrying out the assessment was wearing a mask and DFIL is profoundly deaf and will smile and answer yea to any question.

I was assured at the time that the member of staff who had carried out the assessment was very professional and wouldn't have made any errors. I suggested that they go back to DFIL and see how much he remembered about the questions and being assessed and he couldn't even remember speaking to anyone.

I might be wrong but I thought the capacity test was for a specific question, rather than a general thing.

He needs an OT assessment.

Thanks all for your info. Will get DH to get in touch with social work and discuss.

MIL and SIL really struggle to cope so would be interested to find out what would happen if they said they would withdraw care.

The hospital have said that if FIL makes the decision on his own to go in to a care home, he would be given a funded place

The hospital have said that if FIL makes the decision on his own to go in to a care home, he would be given a funded place

Could you take DMIL & DSIL away from the situation, even if it's just for a in the Hospital, and make sure they understand that DFIL is deemed to need 24 hour care, 7 days a week and if they say that they'll do it, it will be with no breaks or holidays. I really would encourage them to make it clear to the Discharge Clerk and the SW that they will not be providing and care.