The appellant appealed a decision of the Consent and Capacity Board finding her incapable of consenting to treatment and renewing a Community Treatment Order under the Mental Health Act.
The appeal raised issues concerning whether the Board applied the correct statutory test for capacity and whether its decision was unreasonable.
Applying the framework from Starson v. Swayze, the court examined whether the appellant could understand information relevant to treatment and appreciate the reasonably foreseeable consequences of her decision.
The court held that while the appellant understood the information provided, the Board reasonably relied on expert medical evidence that she could not appreciate the consequences of refusing medication.
Given the deferential reasonableness standard applicable to the specialized tribunal, the court declined to interfere with the Board’s findings.
