Mental Capacity Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Meaning of “serious intervention”

“Serious intervention”

63.—(1) In this Part “serious intervention” means an intervention in connection with the care, treatment or personal welfare of P which (or any part of which)—

(a) consists of or involves major surgery;

(b) causes P serious pain, serious distress, or serious side-effects;

(c) affects seriously the options that will be available to P in the future, or has a serious impact on P’s day-to-day life; or

(d) in any other way has serious consequences for P, whether physical or non-physical.

(2) Without prejudice to subsection (1), and to avoid any doubt, each of the following is a serious intervention for the purposes of this Part—

(a) any deprivation of liberty;

(b) the imposition of a requirement mentioned in section 28(1)(a) (requirements to attend at particular times or intervals for certain treatment);

(c) the imposition of a community residence requirement (see section 31).

(3) Regulations may provide that a prescribed intervention (except one mentioned in subsection (2))—

(a) is to be regarded as an intervention falling within a particular paragraph of subsection (1); or

(b) is not to be regarded as such an intervention.

(4) If—

(a) the act mentioned in section 9(1) is, or is part of, an intervention which turns out to be a serious intervention, but

(b) at the time the act is done D reasonably believes that the risk that the intervention will turn out to be a serious intervention is negligible,

that act is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as if the intervention were not a serious intervention.

Acts that are “part of” serious interventions

64.—(1) This section applies where, for any purpose of this Part, a question arises whether a particular act is part of an intervention which is a serious intervention.

(2) Where an act is done which—

(a) is a use of force or a threat to use force, and

(b) is done with the intention of securing the doing of another act in connection with the care, treatment or personal welfare of a person which that person resists,

the act mentioned in paragraph (a) is to be taken to be part of the same intervention as the act mentioned in paragraph (b).

(3) Nothing in this section limits the acts that are to be regarded as part of a particular intervention.