A Mental Capacity Act assessment for a specific decision, carried out by video with a written report.
Unhurried care from a GMC-registered GP
6am to 10pm, seven days a week
Prescriptions, sick notes and referral letters included
Your NHS records in the room, with your consent
Care led personally by Dr Khan
Attentive, unhurried care that listens properly
Five-star Google reviews from the people we have looked after
Registered with the Care Quality Commission
Capacity is decision-specific and time-specific. Someone may have capacity to decide where they live but not to manage complex finances, and capacity can fluctuate.
An assessment therefore addresses one particular decision at one particular time — which is why we need to know exactly what the decision is before the appointment.
"Capacity to decide whether to move into residential care" or "capacity to manage their own finances" — not simply "a capacity assessment". The decision defines the assessment.
Any diagnosis, recent letters, and an account from family or carers about how the person manages day to day.
The GP assesses whether the person can understand the information relevant to the decision, retain it, weigh it up, and communicate their choice.
Setting out the conclusion and the reasoning behind it.
This is what determines whether the assessment can be done at all. Capacity is decision-specific: someone may have capacity to decide where they live but not to manage complex investments, and the assessment addresses one decision at one point in time.
So tell us "capacity to decide whether to move into residential care" or "capacity to manage their own bank account and bills" — not "a capacity assessment". A report answering an unspecified question is of no use to anybody.
The assessment follows the Mental Capacity Act 2005:
All four elements are tested, and failing any one is enough. Retention need only last long enough to make the decision — forgetting afterwards does not itself indicate a lack of capacity.
Every practicable step is taken to help the person decide before concluding they cannot. That is a legal requirement, not a courtesy: plain language, information in manageable pieces, breaks, a supporter present, and where possible the time of day the person is at their best.
Part of the assessment is usually conducted with the person alone where it is safe and practicable. Relatives are welcome to support, but a decision cannot be assessed properly if it is being answered by somebody else in the room.
The starting point in law is that the person has capacity. Nobody has to prove they are capable, and someone is entitled to make a choice their family considers a mistake. We assess the process of deciding, not the wisdom of the conclusion.
The person being assessed must be able to take part in a video consultation, with support from a relative or carer if needed. Where sensory impairment or distress makes remote assessment unreliable, we will say so rather than produce a report that would not stand up.
Testamentary capacity — capacity to make a will — and Lasting Power of Attorney certification carry a higher evidential bar and are often challenged later. Those are usually better handled by a solicitor-instructed specialist assessor, and we will advise accordingly.
Usually issued the same day. It sets out the specific decision assessed, the information given and how it was presented, what the person said in their own words, the finding against each of the four elements, the conclusion, and the reasoning.
It records what the assessment found — including where that is not the finding the person requesting it was hoping for. If capacity is present, the report says so, and the fee applies exactly as it would either way.
Capacity fluctuates, particularly with delirium, infection, medication changes and progressive illness. A report is a finding about one decision at one time, so a months-old assessment should not be relied on for a decision being taken now, and a solicitor or local authority may well say the same.
The decision then has to be made in the person's best interests under section 4 of the Act — taking into account their past and present wishes, beliefs and values, and consulting those close to them.
The person makes their own decision, and that is the end of the matter — including where relatives disagree with it. What can be offered is support to decide well: information in a clearer form, more time, or someone independent to talk it through with.
Where we suspect coercion or financial abuse, we have a duty to act and we will — referring to the local authority safeguarding team, and telling the person and the referrer that we have done so.
We will say so and explain why rather than produce a report that would not withstand challenge. That applies to testamentary capacity, LPA certification, and Mental Health Act work.
The starting point in law is that the person has capacity. Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 nobody has to prove they are capable, and an unwise decision is not the same as an incapable one. Someone is entitled to choose what their family considers a mistake. We assess whether the person can understand, retain, weigh and communicate — not whether their conclusion is the sensible one.
We assess the person, not the request. Where a family or a professional is hoping for a particular finding, the report will say what the assessment found. If we conclude that capacity is present, that is what the report records, and the fee applies as it would either way.
Assessments we cannot carry out remotely, or at all:
If we suspect coercion or financial abuse, we have a safeguarding duty and will act on it. We would tell the person and the referrer that we were doing so.
One named decision, at one point in time — whether the person can understand the relevant information, retain it long enough to decide, weigh it up, and communicate their choice.
Capacity is not a global status. Someone can have capacity for one decision and not another on the same afternoon, which is why the decision must be specified before booking.
No, and this is the most important thing on the page. The Mental Capacity Act is explicit: an unwise decision is not an incapable one.
People are entitled to make choices their families find alarming — about money, about where they live, about risk. The assessment examines how the decision is being made, not whether it is the choice you would make.
The report says so, and the fee applies exactly as it would either way. We assess the person, not the request — a service that produced whichever finding the referrer wanted would be worthless to everyone, including in court.
No — testamentary capacity is a different legal test (the Banks v Goodfellow criteria, not the Mental Capacity Act) and these assessments are the ones most often challenged after death.
That needs a solicitor-instructed specialist assessor, usually in person. We will tell you this rather than take the booking.
Not remotely. LPA certificate provision requires the certificate provider to discuss the LPA with the donor in private and be satisfied they understand it, and it is deliberately held to a high standard because it is scrutinised later.
Use a solicitor or an in-person assessor. A certificate later found inadequate can invalidate the whole instrument, long after the person can no longer make another.
No. Those require a Section 12 approved clinician and, for DoLS, a Best Interests Assessor appointed by the supervisory body. Neither can be done privately by video.
They should be asked, and told what it is for and who will see the report. Assessing someone who is actively refusing is rarely appropriate or useful.
Where they cannot consent, the assessment can still proceed if it is in their best interests — which it usually is, since the alternative is a decision made about them with no evidence at all.
Yes, for support — but part of the assessment is usually conducted with the person alone where it is safe and practicable. A relative answering on the person's behalf, however well meant, makes the assessment impossible.
Then remote assessment is the wrong route and we will say so. Significant hearing or visual impairment, marked agitation, or advanced illness all make a video assessment unreliable.
A report built on an assessment that did not work properly is worse than no report, because decisions get taken on it. In-person assessment through the person's GP, the memory service, or a solicitor-instructed assessor is the right answer.
There is no fixed period, and capacity fluctuates. Delirium, infection, a medication change or progressive illness can all shift it within days.
Treat it as a finding about that decision at that time. For a decision being taken now, a months-old report may reasonably be questioned by a solicitor or local authority.
The decision is then made in the person's best interests under the Act — weighing their past and present wishes, beliefs and values, and consulting those close to them. A registered attorney or court-appointed deputy may already hold authority; contested decisions go to the Court of Protection.
It sets out the statutory test, the evidence and the reasoning, which is what makes any capacity report usable — but the body relying on it decides that.
Where an instructing party has specified an in-person assessment or a particular type of assessor, follow that, and check before booking rather than after.
Clinically reviewed by Dr Mohammad Zubair Khan, GMC 7563469
Last reviewed
August 23, 2026
On this page
Ongoing
Time to be seen
Appointment length
Your NHS record in the room
Written treatment plan
Told when a test isn’t needed
Cost
Same day, usually
20 minutes
Yes, with your consent
Included
Yes, and told why
£40 for 20 minutes
Varies by practice
Typically 10 minutes
Yes, your full record
Not routinely
Usually
Free
Same day
Often 10 to 15 minutes
Usually not
Sometimes charged
Varies by provider
Often a subscription
Same-day access is usually available, from 6am to 10pm, seven days a week. You choose a time that suits you rather than waiting on hold at 8am.
Yes. Care is led personally by Dr Mohammad Khan, so you are not passed between clinicians. Continuity is the point of a small practice: someone who knows your history and is listening attentively rather than working through a checklist.
Yes, with your consent. We can access your Summary Care Record during the consultation, so your current medications, allergies and significant history are in the room. That means fewer questions you have already answered elsewhere, and safer prescribing.
No. We are not here to replace GPs, only to support them. Your NHS practice remains responsible for your ongoing care, and with your consent we write to them after the consultation. We are useful when you need to be seen sooner, or want more time than a standard appointment allows.
Twenty unhurried minutes and a comprehensive assessment. A written treatment plan is included, along with any prescription, sick note or referral letter arising from the consultation, at no extra charge.
£40 for 20 minutes, self-pay. Membership is optional and never required. Priced for fairness, because we are not here to charge extortionate amounts for access to a doctor.
It means the diagnosis can usually be made from your history and photographs, and that treatment can be arranged safely without examining you. Where a condition is not marked treatable online, it is because examination is the diagnosis — listening to a chest, feeling an abdomen, examining an ear or a joint — or because a procedure or device is needed.
Yes, where there is a genuine bacterial infection — cellulitis, impetigo, bacterial urine infections, confirmed strep throat. We will also frequently tell you that you do not need one. Most sore throats, coughs, colds and earaches are viral, and an antibiotic gives you the side effects with none of the benefit.
If your problem turns out to be genuinely outside what we can do remotely, the doctor will tell you straight away, point you to the right service, and refund your fee in full. We would rather do that than fill twenty minutes to justify the charge.
Call 999 or go to A&E — do not book an online appointment and do not wait for a reply to an email. For urgent problems that are not emergencies, NHS 111 is available 24 hours a day, online or by phone, and can direct you to the right service.
Patient reviews
