POLICY: Adults with Incapacity Amendment Act

This consultation is about proposed changes to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000 (the AWI Act), following on from the recommendations of the Scottish Mental Health Law Review, chaired by Lord Scott (the SMHLR or ‘the Scott review’). There are some relatively minor implications specifically for the nursing profession and/or workforce.

RCN agrees with the proposed, relatively minor, extension to the authority that registered nurses may exercise under section 47 of the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000. We ask for the law to clearly apply this extension to all suitably trained registered nurses, just as the law applies the existing authority to them now. We support a small extension to what treatment may be given to a patient during an appeal against a decision to treat that patient.