What is a Health & Welfare LPA?
A Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document that enables you to appoint an attorney to make certain decisions for you should you lose the mental capacity to make decisions for yourself. Any decisions made under this Lasting Power of Attorney will be decisions relating to your personal health or your welfare.
Your attorneys are only able to make decisions on your health and welfare and should you want them to make decisions about your financial affairs you will also need to apply for the Property & Financial Affairs Lasting Power of Attorney.
Your attorneys will only be able to make decisions if you have lost the mental capacity to make decisions and if you are unlikely to be able to make a recovery.
Under the Health & Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney you are able to give your chosen attorney(s) power to make decisions about:
- Any current or future medical treatment.
- Whether you wish to accept or refuse different types of health care.
- Whether you are able to stay living at home or be moved into residential care.
- Whether or not to accept treatment or choose not to be accept life sustaining treatment.
Your Lasting Power of Attorney cannot be used until it has been registered with the Office of Public Guardian. The time taken to register a Lasting Power of Attorney can be up to 10 weeks and this will be subject to a fee payable to the Office of the Public Guardian on application.