Everyone Needs A Health & Welfare Lasting Power Of Attorney

HEALTH AND WELFARE LASTING POWER OF ATTORNEY

Many underestimate the importance of having a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney and they tend to concentrate on the Property and Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney. This has mainly been due to the fact that it is assumed that should any important decisions be required to be made in relation to a persons’ health and welfare, and the individual concerned lacked capacity, then their family would be consulted by the relevant professionals prior to a decision being made. However, it has recently become apparent that that is not always the case unless a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney is in place.

What if you lose mental capacity without having made a health and welfare Lasting Power of Attorney? 

The stance of local authorities is inconsistent and therefore there is no guarantee that the important opinions of family members and friends will be given the weight that you may have wished. It is becoming increasingly apparent that the opinions and decisions of the professionals involved may well overshadow any important views of family and friends.

What if you lose capacity and need to go into a care home, who makes the decisions for you then?

It can become quite difficult for family members to make decisions when someone has a primary health need. A primary health need is determined following an assessment of your health, in which they look at various aspects including your behaviour, breathing and consciousness and assess the level of severity of each. If you are assessed as having a primary health need, the NHS has a duty to be responsible for your health and social needs, which also includes your accommodation. A situation can therefore arise where your family and the opinions of the NHS regarding your needs could be conflicting. In such a situation if no Lasting Power of Attorney for your Health and Welfare is in place, the NHS or social services would have the upper hand. This could result in you being placed in a care home for example, which may not be the preferred choice of your family, but your family will have no legal power to intervene.

It is important to put a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney in place if you are concerned that at some point in the future, when you no longer have mental capacity, your views might be ignored or overridden.

A Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney will enable you to nominate someone you trust to have the legal authority to make decisions on your behalf in the event of you losing mental capacity.

Without a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney you will be relying on Social Workers, or strangers to make those very important decisions for you.

With a Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney you will ensure that your Attorney has power to make important decisions on your behalf. Your Attorney will know what your likes, dislikes, feelings and opinions are and will be able to give voice to those for you should you be in a vulnerable position. Therefore in the event of you losing mental capacity you can ensure that you will still be living in the way that you would have chosen.

Should you be placed in a care home by Social Services then your loved ones will only get a chance to object or to choose a more suitable care home for you if they are your Attorney. Otherwise they have no power to make such decisions for you. Social Services will be in total control of your care.

The following are the types of decision that your Attorney can make for you under a Health And Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney once you become incapacitated:

- complaints about your care or treatment;

- assessments for and provision of community care services;

- consenting to or refusing medical examinations and treatment on your behalf;

- making arrangements for you to be given medical, dental or optical treatment;

- right to access personal information such as your health and social care records; 

- where you should live and whom you should live with;

- whether you should take part in social activities, leisure activities, education or training;

- your day-to-day care including choice of food and clothing.

For more information on Lasting Powers of Attorney contact : 

Gary Taylor

Director

Progressive Wills Ltd.

Tel : 07543238543

Email : [email protected]