A Clinician's Brief Guide to Dementia and the Law

A readable and practical guide to how the law applies to people with dementia, from diagnosis to end-of-life.

Nick Brindle (Author), Michael Kennedy (Author), Christian Walsh (Author), Ben Alderson (Author)

9781911623243, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 August 2023

150 pages
23.4 x 15.6 x 1 cm, 0.299 kg

Dementia is a topic of enormous medical, legal and ethical importance with considerable human and economic cost. Its importance grows with the change in demographics of the aging population and that people with dementia receive care in a wide range of settings. The legal and ethical problems raised in treating patients with dementia are diverse and complex and are dealt with by many practitioners on a daily basis. This book is a 'how-to' guide to understanding how the law applies to people with dementia, from diagnosis through to end-of-life. It explores the practical problems that people experience, and practitioners face, giving an accurate account of statute, court cases and other inquiries, to give readers an up-to-date account of the law and how it applies in this area. An essential read for clinicians and practitioners that work with patients with dementia, including psychiatrists, primary care physicians, nurses, social workers and advocates.

1. Dementia: the clinical and diagnostic context
2. Dementia: The wider social and legal context
3. Dementia: the legal framework
4. The Mental Capacity Act 2005
5. The Mental Health Act 1983
6. The Care Act 2014
7. Assessment of capacity
8. The diagnosis of dementia: planning for the future
9. Care and treatment issues and the law
10. Deprivation of liberty
11. Discharge from hospital
12. Abuse and safeguarding
13. The courts and tribunals
14. The interface of dementia and the criminal justice system.

Subject Areas: Clinical psychology [MMJ]