The upcoming Mental Health Capacity Bill must be effective, accessible and appropriate to those living with dementia and their families, and must above all protect the rights of vulnerable adults the Alzheimer Society of Ireland has said.

According to the Society the upcoming legislation should specifically consider the needs of the increasing number of people in Ireland living with dementia.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland said that as dementia rates were set to double over the next 20 years , people with dementia would be the largest single user-group of the scheduled legislative review. The new Mental Capacity Bill will reform the law relating to vulnerable adults who face capacity issues in making important decisions for themselves.

The focus of The Alzheimer Society of Ireland is to ensure that people are enabled and fully supported to take part in decision-making so that they can make important choices about their care and plan for the future. This new legislation aims replace the Wards of Court system with a new framework and approach to decision-making.

Addressing to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice, Defence and Equality, today the Alzheimer Society of Ireland’s CEO Mr Maurice O’Connell advised members that the key challenge in framing such legislation for people with dementia was balancing autonomy in making decisions with protection of a vulnerable person against exploitation and abuse.

“Well over half of decisions under the UK Mental Capacity legislation relate to people with dementia and it is therefore a matter of urgency to The Alzheimer Society of Ireland that the legislation and its implementing structures be effective, accessible and appropriate to the needs of people with dementia and their families” said Mr O’Connell.

“It’s our view that, to be effective, the legislation must create a system which is Informed by, and responsive to, the real-life situations of people with dementia and be accessible to people with dementia and their supporters” he continued.

There are over 44,000 people in Ireland living with dementia today and that figure is expected to double every 20 years due to our ageing population. In 2026 it is estimated that there will be 70,115 people with dementia and by 2036 there will be over 100,000 people living with dementia in Ireland.

The Alzheimer Society of Ireland was invited to present to the Committee on Equality and Justice following its submission on the Mental Capacity Bill to the Department of Justice and Law Reform in which it promoted learning’s from UK legislation, specifically the need for access to independent advocacy to support decision making.

“Whatever approach to capacity is adopted it must focus on supports. For people with dementia their need for supports will change over time – the system must be robust enough, with sufficient flexibility, to take account of this. At some stage of their journey with dementia every person is likely to need some support in order to continue to make decisions. By the end of their journey, most are likely to need a system in which somebody can make decisions on their behalf, while still respecting their will and preferences” Mr O’Connell concluded.

The enactment of the new Mental Capacity Bill will also, importantly, enable Ireland to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, as the State would then be in a position to comply with the legal obligations imposed by the Treaty, the Society added.

Source: Medical Independent