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Court of Protection approves administration of medication by deception
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Private Client analysis: Alex Ruck Keene barrister of 39 Essex Chambers examines the decision of the Court of Protection in Re AB [2016] EWCOP 66 to approve deceiving a person lacking mental capacity in order to administer her medication.
What are the practical implications of the judgment?
Because it is so fact-specific it is difficult to take immediate practical implications from this judgment which was recently published despite the court having reached its decision in December 2016.
The use of covert medication was considered in another judgment from the same year in the context of deprivation of liberty in
AG (by her litigation friend the Official Solicitor) v BMBC and another [2016] EWCOP 37 [2016] All ER (D) 62 (Jul) and that judgment provides detailed guidance which is likely to be of more immediate practical use.
The judgment does however serve both as an important example of the way in which the courts can address complex best interests decisions and also to highlight the need for particular scrutiny in relation to the administration of covert medication especially where the...
Read the full article here.
