Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is an important form of advanced decision making giving people the option to assign a trusted person (or persons) to make decisions on their behalf should they ever lack capacity in the future.
However, the role of LPA is not always well understood, and has often been misapplied or even in some cases neglected by some professional teams who may lack sufficient training.
Values are essential to help us establish a moral outlook and focus within our everyday practices – without which we lose our sense of identity and purpose.
Here at Mental Capacity Ltd, we have identified three core values to guide us in our mission: Promote, Partner and Protect.
In our last blog, we outlined some of the key differences between Next of Kin (NOK) and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA). In this follow-up blog, we will explore a few recent examples of misuse of LPA, and lessons we can learn going forward.
According to UK consumer rights organisation Which?, the Power of Attorney system is in ‘desperate need of improvement’. This is because many people don’t understand how the system works, and it can also be difficult to put vital Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) arrangements in place.
In our last blog, we considered the complex case of ‘P’ – an individual being assessed for mental capacity with respect to their change in accommodation, as well as their wish to take responsibility for managing their inheritance.
The case study highlighted several major issues in the way the original mental capacity assessment had been completed, including concerns around the lack of support to help P communicate autonomously, and the lack of documentation around P’s condition and capacity.
We are delighted to announce the next in our series of webinars designed to build confidence in working with the Mental Capacity Act (2005) and…
In this blog, we will work through an example mental capacity assessment for an individual making a complex decision. This case study is based on a real-life example reviewed in the wake of the Covid pandemic. At each stage we will present the information as it was presented to us, followed by specific comment relating to the assessment process and steps that could and in some cases should have been taken to improve the quality of outcomes.
In the tenth and final part of our blog series on the proposed changes to the MCA Code of Practice, we look at other legal tests of Mental Capacity, plus the use of Retrospective Assessments
We are nearing the end of our series reflecting upon the MCA Code of Practice consultation. In this ninth blog, we consider the broadening of the MCA to include those aged 16-17.