Capacity and the exercise of patient autonomy

Capacity, often linked with the exercise of patient autonomy, was considered again recently by the Court of Appeal in Thirumalesh Chellamal Hemachandran and Another v Sudiksha Thirumalesh (Deceased) (By her litigation friend, The Official Solicitor) and Others ([2024] EWCA Civ 896). This paper reviews that case and comments on it in the light of the two related key themes of capacity and patient autonomy. The paper concludes that only patients with capacity can exercise patient autonomy because a patient who lacks capacity cannot make a decision regarding their medical treatment.