Health and Welfare Lasting Powers of Attorney

There is growing awareness about the importance LPAs to help manage our financial affairs in later life, but what about the LPA for health and welfare?

What is a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney?

A Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney enables you to choose trusted family members or friends (known as Attorneys) to make decisions on your behalf in relation to both day to day matters concerning your personal wellbeing, and more complex decisions relating to your healthcare and treatment.

Unlike Lasting Powers of Attorney that relate to your property and financial affairs, a health and welfare Attorney can only make decisions when you no longer have the capacity to make those decisions yourself or are no longer able to communicate your views.

It is possible to appoint different Attorneys to deal with decisions relating to your health and welfare to those dealing with decisions relating to your financial affairs.

What would be covered by a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney?

The sort of decisions that your Attorney could make include matters relating to:

• where you should live and who you should live with
• day-to-day care, including diet and dress
• consenting or refusal of medical treatment on your behalf
• arrangements for you to be given medical treatment
• assessments for and provision of community care services
• whether you should take part in social and leisure activities, education or training
• rights of access to personal information about you
• complaints about your care or treatment
• the continuation or withdrawal of life sustaining treatment

Why do I need a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney?

Without a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney, decisions could be made by a third party who has limited knowledge of your wishes. This could result in you receiving healthcare treatment that you may not have wanted. Further, if you do not want your next of kin to make such decisions on your behalf it is essential that you appoint your own Attorneys. For further information please contact our Elderly Client Department on 01708 229444 or email mail@pinneytalfourd.co.uk.