Delays in discharging patients from hospital shows vital importance of Power of Attorney
In response to reports a third of patients delayed from being discharged from hospital in Scotland’s largest health board area is due to them not having the legal documents required, Holmes Mackillop Solicitors director Ross Brown has stressed the importance of having a Power of Attorney.
If hospital patients no longer have capacity to make decisions for themselves, it can lead to significant delays when they are ready to be discharged if they don’t have in place Power of Attorney giving a trusted person chosen by them the power to make financial and welfare decisions on their behalf.
The current system means, without a Power of Attorney, that a Guardianship Order must be obtained from the court, which can take months.
Brown said: “Powers of Attorney are vital – everyone should have one. And the procedure is straightforward: you choose your attorneys, they agree to take on the responsibility, you discuss and agree terms, you spend a few hundred pounds, and the whole process takes a couple of weeks.
“Alternatively, if you fall ill or suffer an injury with no Power of Attorney in place, the court must get involved, probably social work too, and the whole process takes months and costs thousands. Your family don’t know who you would have wished to take on these responsibilities – the whole thing is a nightmare.
“Your family won’t thank you for not having a Power of Attorney in place should you become incapable of making decisions.”
The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh (RCPE) is calling on the Scottish government to introduce legislative reform around power of attorney and guardianship provisions, with funding attached to make it easier for people to put in place.
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For further information please contact Ross Brown on tel 0141 226 4942