LPA Health & Welfare

[NetZeroZealot]

My sibling and I already have LPA for property & finance. Have had it for 10 years and haven't needed to use it yet. I'm wondering if we should ask our parents to set it up for Helath & Welfare too?

My father has recently become extremely frail and I think my Mum is finding it very challenging. They are both very forgetful (see my other thread on dementia). For example, Mum told me the GP had changed Dad's prescription for his heart medicine, and then she told me he'd changed his mind and couldn't remember the previous conversation about it.

Have others found this useful? What ways have you used it? I guess I'd like to ask the doctor to copy me in on any correspondence about their health issues? And maybe I can be a bit more assertive over what their medical needs might be. But I also dont want to cause unnecessary stress to them. It's all so difficult.

Hi.
I’ve just done this for my elderly FIL but not actually certain how much use it will be. As far as I know, it can be helpful in certain situations where decisions regarding care would otherwise be taken by the Council (if he’s not competent).

As far as the GP and medical information are concerned, we simply had a meeting with them and my FIL and requested that a note be made on his records so that any issues could be discussed with my husband and I. Same for dentist - they email me about his appointments now.

When my elderly MIL was admitted to hospital the care was so fragmented I don’t think the LPA would have made much difference. She had a DNR put on her records even though she was fully competent and had stated on about eight separate occasions that she absolutely wanted to be resuscitated.

I think for the cost of doing it (I did his online without too much difficulty) it’s better to have than not. If anything I’d say it reduces stress for him knowing that we will be able to make the decisions on his behalf if necessary.

Yes yes yes. It is extremely helpful to have, especially as things progress. There is always the one hcp who insists you have it before having any conversation regarding health with you. Invaluable once mil entered the care home system. Although I was dil not family (as I was so often told!) I had both health and welfare and finance poas.
typo

thanks both.

My father’s nursing home take very seriously both the LPA and the associated Letter of Wishes.

I've just looked it up on the government website. It says:

"It can only be used when you’re unable to make your own decisions."

I don't think we're at that stage yet, but I suppose it is worth doing in preparation for that point?

I'm a bit wary of coming across as being bossy or too controlling ...

We, and our parents have these, completed at the same time as the finance one.

We were told it would be only ever used if the person was signed off by doctors as unable to make decisions for themselves. So, less likely to be used than the finance document which is a little more flexible I believe. We've luckily not needed any yet.

They weren't too expensive we used a will writer to do.ours and she did everything, including updated wills, at the same time. They took a while to come through though. Almost 6 months

I actually think having a health and well-being POA in place when you can actively engage in the process makes them more effective. I am a little bit hypocritical as I haven’t done mine yet but it is on my to do list.

Just explain that you are planning for the future for them. It's good to have it sorted, and signed (and it's easier to do it when you are younger.) You can choose who keeps the approved copy so they can hold onto it, but you all know that it's there for peace of mind if ever they do need a hand at the doctors. "You are still in charge now but when you get older you might be pleased to get the doctor to explain stuff to me so that I can lend a hand.

Note: there's an optional section in it about whether they want to give you the right to decide decide on end of life care. I didn't ask them to think about that. We just said we would let the doctors decide what treatment was best! (In fact the doctors did ask me as next of kin anyway when discussing treatment options near to the end., but it kept Mum n Dad thinking that they were in charge.

i don’t think I can put this gently. ……
You are going to have to be nosey, bossy, strong and determined tempered with politeness for what’s to come. So get the tools in place now to help you achieve what you and your parents want and need in the future.

By all means ask your parents to do H&W LPA, but you don't really need it.

My mother has had dementia for nearly ten years and I have Finance LPA for her which I've been using for all that time.

She now has end stage dementia and is in a care home, and has had many medical 'events' from gut problems to broken bones to a stroke. She never did a H&W and I have never needed it.

In the early stages of dementia she told her GP that they could share her health info, and since then all medical staff have shared info and sent copies of letters to me, and have proactively called me to discuss her medical requirements. I did a DNaR for her years ago. One medic asked if I had H&W LPA and when I said I didn't, she said "that's fine, it won't change anything I say to you."

So if you can't get your parents to do it, don't worry too much, but it would be useful if they could let the GP know it's okay to share info with you.

I think it’s probably a good idea, but I didn’t have it for my DM. It didn’t stop her care home, GP, consultant and specialist nurse talking to me about her care, but that may have been because of circumstances. I had accompanied my mum to all her appointments so they all knew me, and knew I was advocating for her and reinforcing/reminding her about what they had said. It could have been different I suppose.

I don't think we're at that stage yet, but I suppose it is worth doing in preparation for that point? Well, you can’t do it afterwards! Do your own at the same time.

@MereDintofPandiculation

I completely agree. We did ours with Dad at the same time. It helped him appreciate the importance of doing it ahead of the game and he's now trying to get my brother to do his!

I think, looking at the form downloads, I could possibly have prepared them and only had the fee to pay, so that might be an option if the cost is an issue and you are good with paperwork. However, if you can afford to pay, we used a will.writer to do them quite reasonably, it adds a level of independence. So whilst my brother and I are on Dads POAs , the will writer completed them and explained what each page meant to Dad and also completed the areas needing decisions to be made with his independent decisions. It felt a more comfortable process. I think we paid £120 for each and every POA plus the official fee which I think was about £80-£90 for each POA.

Which? magazine also offer a LPA checking service, £99 per document, but quite often discounted to £69.