Assessing best interests

Doctors are often unsure how to proceed when assessing best interests especially if the decisions are complex or there's disagreement about what's in the patient's best interests. Understanding how to navigate these and the implications involved should help you approach them with more confidence.

This e-learning course follows on from our Assessing capacity module and covers how to approach decisions when it's confirmed a patient lacks the necessary capacity to decide for themselves.
 
The legislation and case law applies to England and Wales, but many of the practical points covered are more widely applicable to Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The process for these assessments is brought to life with a fictional case.

This module covers:

• the concept of best interests
• who decides what's in the person’s best interests
• defining the decision
• common factors that must be considered when deciding what's in the best interests of someone lacking capacity
• organising a best interests meeting
• when and how to involve the courts in a best interests dispute.

Estimated completion time is 20 minutes.

You don't need to finish the course all at once – you can save your progress and pick up where you left off whenever it's convenient.

Once you finish the course you'll be able to download a certificate of completion.

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