Lasting Power of Attorney
Before any assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding can take place, your relative will need to provide their consent to the process, which includes sharing their personal information with different organisations involved in their care and, of course, sharing information with us as their advocate.
As long as your relative has the capacity under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, they can provide that consent either verbally, or (preferably) in writing.
However, life is precarious. Your relative’s mental or physical health could change very quickly – whether due to declining health, or as a result of an unpredictable life–changing event, such as a catastrophic stroke, accident or stressful event. Once it is determined that they don’t have mental capacity to make decisions for themselves, you or their advocate will have to apply to the Court of Protection for an Order in order to gain ‘control’ over their affairs. This can be expensive, and most importantly time-consuming, causing delays whilst critical (perhaps even life-saving) decisions may be put on hold.
If your relative sets up a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) whilst they still have mental capacity, then this issue won’t arise.
A Lasting Power of Attorney is a binding document made whilst you are alive, and before you lose mental capacity, that transfers power to another person you have specifically chosen, known as your ‘attorney’, to make your decisions about your own health and welfare, and/or property and financial matters on your behalf – as if you were making those decisions yourself. The LPA protects your health and financial interests at a time when you can’t, and ensures that your appointed representative (attorney) will act in your best interests at all times.
