NHS Highland is launching a campaign encouraging people across Highland to begin planning for the time when you may no longer be able to make decisions for yourself.
Many people assume that in these situations a family member, such as a husband or wife, can make welfare and financial decisions. However, legally this is not the case.
Granting a Power of Attorney (PoA) allows you to nominate who would make decisions for you if you were no longer able to make them yourself. This would be someone you trust, such as a relative or close friend.
NHS Highland will be sharing information about Power of Attorney during World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month this September.
We will share helpful information on PoA, including what PoA means for you and your family, how to secure PoA and why it is vitally important to have PoA secured for your loved ones.
Dr Andrew Jamieson, an NHS Highland Consultant Physician, said arranging Power of Attorney was important for everybody, not just older people. He said: “It is estimated that there are over 944,000 people living in the UK with dementia, with 42,000 people under 65 years-of-age living with the condition. It is extremely important that we raise awareness of the impact of not having Power of Attorney secured for you and your loved ones.
“The impact on patients and their families that do not have PoA can be extremely challenging, especially upon learning of a diagnosis of a long-term illness.”
Not having a PoA can have a significant impact on the outcomes you or your loved ones can experience when unwell, including long delays in accessing necessary services or being in hospital longer than required.
A PoA is a written document giving someone else authority to take actions or make decisions on behalf of the person concerned. The individual chooses the person or persons they want to help them, called an attorney, and decides what powers they should have.
Dr Jamieson explained that problems could occur when patients needed to be transferred from hospital to a care home, but no one had the right to make that decision for them. He continued: “It comes as a terrible shock to patients and their families to discover that their family doesn’t automatically have the right to make this decision for them.
“Many people fail to appreciate that no-one has the automatic right to make welfare or financial decisions on their behalf without legal authority.
“Sadly, I see many people who have become stuck in hospital for many months after being fit for discharge - hospitals are important when we are sick, but we should not have to stay any longer than necessary.”
There are two main types of PoA – Continuing PoA, which deals only with money or property, and Welfare PoA, which enables the attorney to make decisions on the person’s health or personal welfare. The best way to make sure all eventualities are covered is to do both.
“Most people are unaware of the importance of granting Power of Attorney and, among those who are aware, there is a common misconception that they don’t need to appoint an attorney as they still have full capacity,” said Dr Jamieson.
“However, you can only grant a Power of Attorney if you have capacity. If you have an accident or an ongoing medical problem, which leaves you incapable of looking after your own affairs, it’s too late.
“Without a Power of Attorney, your family or friends will have to apply to the courts for a Guardianship Order to allow them to make decisions on your behalf and this can be a lengthy and far more costly process.
“When you appoint a family member or friend as an attorney, you are taking a positive step by choosing someone you trust to look after your affairs and not leaving that decision to the courts.”
Dr Jamieson explained that, as with making a will, it is possible to draw up a PoA without the help of a solicitor, but it is much safer to employ a solicitor to do it as any mistakes could render the PoA useless when it is needed.
Over the course of World Alzheimer’s Awareness Month, we will share helpful information on PoA, including what PoA means for you and your family, how to secure PoA and why it is vitally important to have PoA secured for your loved ones.
Notes
Age Scotland conducted a survey in April and May 2023 to understand how many people across the country had Power of Attorney. Over 4,000 people responded to the survey, and every Local Authority area in Scotland was represented.
The survey showed that:
- Respondents were less likely to have a Power of Attorney than a will.
- 38% of respondents had a Power of Attorney which states their current wishes (43% in 2021).
- Older respondents were significantly more likely to have an up-to date Power of Attorney in comparison with those in their 50s and 60s. 16% of respondents in their 50s, 29% in their 60s, 47% in their 70s and 63% in their 80s had a Power of Attorney which states their current needs.
- Of note is that 14% of respondents in their 50s and 15% in their 60s stated they could not afford a Power of Attorney and 3% respectively in these age groups did not understand what a Power of Attorney was.
- 26% of respondents with a total gross annual household income of less than £10,000 had a Power of Attorney which stated their current needs but 25% in this income bracket said they could not afford a Power of Attorney.
See further information at NHS inform on Power of Attorney and other legal issues around care.