Guiding Principles
In addition to it being best practice for all Adult Protection work, the Adult Guardianship Act requires that it is to be interpreted in accordance with the following principles:
Capable adults are entitled to make poor decisions that may harm themselves. For example, a capable cardiac patient refusing treatment despite that decision meaning almost certain death. However, if an adult has become incapable for some reason, for example Korsakoff Syndrome, and is harming him/herself, assessment and intervention is indicated.
Example: It may be the most effective intervention to place an abused incapable adult in a care facility, but that may not be the least intrusive intervention. Consider all other options first.
Example: Designated Agencies must take into consideration the time it will take to go to court and the associated costs to determine if it will be in the adult’s best interest to pursue this option.
While it may be ideal to have three meals a day, a vulnerable adult with dementia living alone at home who is still going out by himself in his familiar neighbourhood may accept only home support services for only one meal a day in the morning. His apartment is cluttered but there is a pathway to and from the door. The intervention is not to place the adult in care with a court order but to monitor his nutritional intake, weight, and other risk factors.
