{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T11:04:50Z","timestamp":1779188690257,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":26,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,9]],"date-time":"2021-12-09T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1639008000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Intl J Lang &amp;amp; Comm Disor"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Mental capacity legislation in the UK is designed to safeguard the rights of people who may need support, or may be unable, to make autonomous decisions. Very limited evidence has been published about the impact of the COVID\u201019 pandemic on the application of mental capacity legislation and, to our knowledge, none on the ability of speech and language therapists (SLTs) to support people with communication disabilities to engage in decision\u2010making.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aims<\/jats:title><jats:p>To describe how UK SLTs supported people with communication disabilities to make decisions and participate in mental capacity assessments, best interests decision\u2010making and advance care planning during the COVID\u201019 pandemic.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods &amp; Procedures<\/jats:title><jats:p>This descriptive, cross\u2010sectional study used an online survey to collect quantitative and qualitative data about SLTs\u2019 practice experiences between August and November 2020. SLTs working with a range of adult clinical populations in different care settings were sampled purposively from all UK jurisdictions. Participants were recruited through professional networks and social media. Quantitative data were summarized using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analysed thematically.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Outcomes &amp; Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Data were collected from 107 SLTs working in a range of settings across all four UK nations. The sample included SLTs working with people with neurological conditions, learning disabilities, mental health conditions and acute confusion. The need for SLT support appeared to increase during the pandemic. Most respondents were still able to offer support; however, the amount and nature of support varied. Quality of support was impacted by adjustments associated with social distancing and infection control restrictions. Personal protective equipment (PPE) was identified as a barrier to communication. Indirect working methods (e.g., telehealth) were inaccessible to some people with communication disabilities. Most respondents felt confident that legal requirements were upheld, but suggested this group was less able to engage in decision\u2010making and had reduced access to support to manage their own health conditions.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusions &amp; Implications<\/jats:title><jats:p>Some SLT services were limited in their ability to meet the decision\u2010making support needs of people with communication disabilities during the COVID\u201019 pandemic due to structural and systemic barriers. This suggests that existing inequities in the provision of care for people with communication disabilities in the UK were amplified during the pandemic.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>What this paper adds<\/jats:title><jats:sec><jats:title>What is already known on the subject<\/jats:title><jats:p>People with communication disabilities may require support from healthcare professionals, including SLTs, to make decisions and communicate their wishes and preferences about their care, in line with mental capacity legislation. There is a lack of published evidence relating to how changes in staff deployment and resource during the COVID\u201019 pandemic may have impacted on the ability of SLTs to provide this support.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>What this paper adds to existing knowledge<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study provides novel evidence about the ways in which UK SLTs supported people with communication disabilities to engage in mental capacity assessments, best interests decision\u2010making and advance care planning during the COVID\u201019 pandemic. In some cases, the amount and quality of decision\u2010making support available was affected negatively due to changes in healthcare delivery and resource management and SLT working practices.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study suggests that some people with communication disabilities experienced greater barriers to receiving professional support to maximize their autonomy and manage their health conditions during the COVID\u201019 pandemic. Speech and language therapy services and healthcare commissioners should consider how best to ensure equitable service delivery to this population in resource\u2010limited situations.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/1460-6984.12685","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,9]],"date-time":"2021-12-09T09:33:56Z","timestamp":1639042436000},"page":"172-181","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":8,"title":["Mental capacity legislation and communication disability: A cross\u2010sectional survey exploring the impact of the COVID\u201019 pandemic on the provision of specialist decision\u2010making support by UK SLTs"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"57","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0371-7811","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mark","family":"Jayes","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Faculty of Health and Education Manchester Metropolitan University  Manchester UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6425-0613","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Sophie","family":"Borrett","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Speech and Language Therapy Portsmouth University Hospitals NHS Trust  Portsmouth UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0193-5292","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Arpita","family":"Bose","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences University of Reading  Reading UK"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,9]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_9_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0020872820949614"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/02687038.2020.1819954"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1191\/1478088706qp063oa"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/s12877-018-0853-9"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_6_1","unstructured":"Care Quality Commission. (2021)Protect respect connect\u2014Decisions about living and dying well during COVID\u201019. Available from:https:\/\/www.cqc.org.uk\/sites\/default\/files\/20210318_dnacpr_printer\u2010version.pdf. [Accessed May 3 2021]."},{"key":"e_1_2_9_7_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/09638288.2020.1722264"},{"key":"e_1_2_9_8_1","unstructured":"Centre for Workforce Intelligence. (2014) Securing the future workforce supply: Speech and language therapy stocktake. 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