7. Capacity - Assessment

Instructions to candidates:

You are seeing this man who was brought to the A&E by his wife when he started vomiting blood. He was assessed by the medical team who think that further investigations needed to be done including endoscopy. He is refusing the treatment and saying strange things to them. They are worried about further episodes and want to treat  him as soon as possible. They have referred him to you to assess capacity to refuse treatment.

- Assess his capacity

- Explore his psychopathology

You are about to see Mrs.Fraser, a mother of two children who was referred by her GP.She 

suffered a Road Traffic Accident  two months ago and complains of difficulty coping. 

- Examine the patient to assess her symptoms. 

- Take a history to help you arrive at a diagnosis. 

- You are not expected to take a personal or social history. 

You may wish to take notes, as at the next station you will be required to 

explain to the patient  what you have established she is 

experiencing and how you would manage her problems. 

You are about to see Sarah Dawson a married lady unable to leave her house. The thought of going out makes her feel sick. Recently she has developed panic attacks making things even worse. She is desperate for help. 

- Examine the patient to assess her symptoms.

- Establish whether any other co-morbid illness is present.

- You are not expected to take a personal/social history.

You may wish to take notes, as at the next station you will be required to 

explain to her what you have established she is  experiencing and discuss management plans.

You have just seen Mr. Weber. You are about to his wife. She has made this appointment to discuss her concerns with you. You can assume that Mr.Weber has given his consent for the same.

- Address her concerns.

- Talk to her about the side effects of Citalopram and your management plan.

- Explain ways in which she could help him with the OCD.