The Mental Capacity Act 2005: promoting the citizenship of people with dementia?

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 came into force in England and Wales during 2007. The Act enshrines a legal right to autonomy (negative and positive) of people lacking decision-making capacity, such as people with dementia. This paper examines the extent to which the legislation promotes the social citizenship of people with dementia, focusing on its effectiveness in protecting liberty and promoting self-determination and in providing social rights to facilitate autonomy. In particular, the author considers the degree to which the Act will facilitate decision-making by people with dementia, centring on decisions relating to where to live (at home or in an institution). In addition, the historical detention (usually informal) of people with dementia in institutional care, and the role of the Act in promoting recognition of their right to liberty, is highlighted. However, the author points out that the civil rights to liberty and self-determination accorded under the Act--particularly the right to decide where to live--are restricted rights only, as the views of the person lacking capacity can be over-ridden by the decisions of others. In addition, the facilitation of these civil rights is constrained by a lack of access to social rights, particularly the availability of domiciliary and community services to avoid institutional admission. Consequently, whilst the legislation promotes the social citizenship of people with dementia, it has limited capacity to facilitate their full citizenship status.