BMJ  2008;336:405 (23 February), doi:10.1136/bmj.39493.443900.1F

Letters

Mental Capacity Act

How research is affected

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The Mental Capacity Act 2005 could be regarded as protective to both patient and clinician in the circumstances of routine medical care.1 It has also helped clarify the issue of capacity when patients are asked to take part in research studies. Sections 30-34 of the act deal very well with issues of diminished capacity and enrolment to clinical studies.2 Far from being too restrictive to those wishing to study groups of patients with diminished capacity, the act is supportive, as long as the patient group being studied must necessarily be recruited at a time when capacity is diminished and time is of the essence—for example, studies in acute myocardial infarction.

Section 31, paragraph 5a, highlights that the research study must have the potential to benefit the patient without imposing on the patient a burden that is disproportionate to the potential benefit to him or her.

For researchers it is important . . . [Full text of this article]

Andrew J Ludman, cardiology research fellow

1 Hatter Cardiovascular Institute, University College London, London WC1E 6HX

a.ludman@ucl.ac.uk


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Relevant Article

Assessing mental capacity: the Mental Capacity Act
Timothy R J Nicholson, William Cutter, and Matthew Hotopf
BMJ 2008 336: 322-325. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

This article has been cited by other articles:

  • Dixon-Woods, M, Angell, E L (2009). Research involving adults who lack capacity: how have research ethics committees interpreted the requirements?. J. Med. Ethics 35: 377-381 [Abstract] [Full text]  
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