BJSW Advance Access published online on February 16, 2008
British Journal of Social Work, doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcm154
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Expertise and Experience: People with Experiences of Using Services and Carers' Views of the Mental Capacity Act 2005
Correspondence to Jill Manthorpe, Social Care Workforce Research Unit, King's College London, Strand, London WC2, UK. Email: jill.Manthorpe{at}kcl.ac.uk
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Abstract |
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The views of people with experiences of using services and the views of their carers about the 2005 Mental Capacity Act (England and Wales) are reported in this article. Interviews with ten people about the detail of the Act prior to its implementation revealed that they welcomed the principles of the Act, and were able to relate these to aspects of their experiences. The Act's framework for planning around care and treatment and for making advance decisions was seen as offering greater choice and empowerment. Comments were made about the need for the Act to be publicized by professionals, for practitioners to provide specific information and for people with experiences of using services and carers to be included in training and monitoring. The data also revealed some concerns about implementation processes, about missed opportunities for legislative reform and the difficulty of balancing risks and safeguards. Such issues are likely to be highly relevant to social work practice; social workers are alerted to the expertise existing among many people with experiences of using services and carers and to the variations in opinion and knowledge likely to be found among people using services and carers.
Jill Manthorpe is Professor of Social Work and Director of the Social Care Workforce Research Unit at King's College London. Her current research interests lie in areas of adult social care workforce, including risk, adult protection, recruitment and retention. She has published widely on social care and health subjects, particularly around ageing and later life, and she has worked in higher education and the voluntary sector. Joan Rapaport is a qualified social worker and has worked in the statutory and voluntary sectors. She trained and worked as an Approved Social Worker in 1992. Joan has worked part-time at King's College London as a Research Fellow since completing her Ph.D. in 2003 and has published several articles on social care and social work topics, including the role of carers in mental health. Nicky Stanley is professor of social work at the University of Central Lancashire. She has particular interest in mental health and children's services and has worked as a practitioner in a number of social work settings in England and Scotland. Current research interests include the area of child protection and domestic violence, as well as a range of studies on mental health and disability.