Why make a health & welfare LPA?
A Health and Welfare attorney has the legal power to make the following decisions on behalf of the person who gave the power (known as the donor), once they have lost their ability to make their own decisions about their own welfare.
Examples of Health & Welfare LPA decisions:
Where the donor should live and who they should live with
The donor’s day-to-day care, including diet and dress
Consenting to or refusing medical examinations and treatment on the donor’s behalf
Arrangements needed for the donor to be given medical, dental and optical treatment
Assessments for and provision of community care services (social services)
Whether the donor should take part in social activities, leisure activities, education or training
The donor’s personal correspondence and papers
Rights of access to personal information about the donor
Complains about the donor’s care or treatment
Where the donor has explicitly given the power in their LPA, the attorney(s) can also consent to or refuse consent to starting or continuing life sustaining treatment on the donor.
What if I do not have a Health & Welfare LPA?
If you lost mental capacity to make your own welfare decisions and you didn’t have a Health & Welfare LPA, your family would have to apply to the Court of Protection for a deputyship order. Deputyship is a much longer and more expensive process than the LPA process, and not all Welfare Deputyship applications are successful.
Contact us
Phone: 0300 330 5514 (calls charged at the local rate)
Phoneline open hours: Monday to Friday 9.30am – 1.30pm
Email: advice@diverseabilities.org.uk
Address: Diverse Abilities Central Office, The Treehouse, Merritown Lane, Hurn, BH23 6DT