Measuring capacity

Abstract

EVERY SO OFTEN a book is published that deals with an area of such importance in such a clear and comprehensive way that you wonder why the book has not been written before. Mental capacity is such a book. Using a breathtaking breadth of vision, the book draws on the research of lawyers, ethicists, psychiatrists and neuropsychologists to present a fascinating account of the problems of defining and measuring capacity. The book wisely commences by examining general principles of capacity, before focusing on individual concerns relating to advance health care planning. It comprises a good mix of prescriptive information combined with case studies to illustrate particular points. The text is meticulously referenced and written in a lucid style. Given the excellence of the work, criticisms are few in number, and minor in magnitude. On occasion, there is some unnecessary repetition of material in different chapters. For the reader who is not reading the entire book, just selected chapters, this may not be a bad thing. I was also frustrated at the brevity of the concluding chapter ? some good points emerged in this chapter which could usefully have been further developed. Overall, this is a first class book and will be a rich source of material for researchers and practitioners alike.