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terminal illness means an illness or condition that is reasonably likely to result in death;
terminal phase of an eventually fatal illness means the phase of the illness reached when
there is no reasonable prospect of recovery or remission of symptoms (on either a
permanent or temporary basis);
(2) For the purposes of this Act, a person will be taken to have impaired decision-making
capacity in respect of a particular decision if—
(a) the person is not capable of—
(i) understanding any information that may be relevant to the decision
(including information relating to the consequences of making a particular
decision); or
(ii) retaining such information; or
(iii) using such information in the course of making the decision; or
(iv) communicating his or her decision in any manner; or
(b) the person is, by reason of being comatose, lacking in capacity or otherwise
unconscious, unable to make a particular decision about his or her medical
treatment.
(3) For the purposes of this Act-
(a) a person will not be taken to be incapable of understanding information merely
because the person is not able to understand matters of a technical or trivial nature;
(b) a person will not be taken to be incapable of retaining information merely
because the person can only retain the information for a limited time;
(c) a person may fluctuate between having impaired decision-making capacity and
full decision-making capacity;
(d) a person's decision-making capacity will not be taken to be impaired merely
because a decision made by the person results, or may result, in an adverse
outcome for the person.
(4) For the purposes of this Act, a medical practitioner is entitled to presume that a person
who purports to be in a close and continuing relationship with another person is in such a
relationship unless the medical practitioner knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that
those persons were not in such a relationship.
(5) For the purposes of this Act, a medical practitioner is entitled to presume that a person
who purports to have a particular relationship to another person (whether the relationship is
based on affinity or consanguinity or otherwise) does have such a relationship unless the
medical practitioner knew, or ought reasonably to have known, that the person did not have
such a relationship to the other person.
(a) References to provision of medical treatment includes withdrawal of medical
treatment. Unless the contrary intention appears, a reference in this Act to the