Following the recent report on the looming and existing incapacity crisis, carried out by Solicitors for the Elderly (SFE), many regions have also published shocking statistics that highlight the deepening well of concern into this issue.
Areas from across the country have commented on the crisis in their counties; the North East response, carried out by Gordon Brown Law Firm, has upheld the findings that 99% of people surveyed in the region had not planned for important end of life decisions.
Further commenting that 41% of respondents had made no plans for the later stages of their life; this included pensions and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), as well as after life decisions like funeral plans and wills.
Rebecca Harbron Gray, head of Wills, Trust and Probate at Gordon Brown Law Firm, has said: “Just over 1% of people surveyed in the North East by SFE have a health and welfare LPA in place. It is crucial to have a conversation with loved ones in order to make specific medical and care wishes known – such as, where you are cared for, whether you wish to be an organ donor and whether or not you would want to be resuscitated – otherwise there is a risk your preferences may not be taken into account.
“Along with the SFE, we are calling on people in the region to act now and start a conversation with their loved ones about end of life topics to remove the stigma surrounding the discussion.”
Similarly, 97% of those surveyed in East Anglia also leave health and welfare decisions to chance. Statistics like this are worryingly high for many areas of the country which is why the issue of LPA is still resonating with many.
Professor Ilora, the Baroness Finlay, states: “With decades of experience working and campaigning around palliative medicine, the low numbers of health and welfare lasting power of attorneys is of concern.
“When a person loses capacity to take decisions, it is sad to see families and professionals struggling to try to determine what a person would have wanted. Delays and distress can be avoided by appointing someone to speak for you when you can no longer speak up for yourself.
“Discussing medical and care wishes ahead of time ensures that care can respect an individual’s wishes, with the respect they deserve – even when it comes to fulfilling wishes after death, such as organ donation.
“It’s important to have an open discussion about future illnesses and possible incapacity. I urge the millions of people who haven’t given loved ones the opportunity to listen, to act now.”
The current situation highlights the shocking unpreparedness and unwillingness to discuss a subject considered taboo or too painful for the majority. England and Wales have 12.8 million people over the age of 65; a group that have a significantly higher risk of developing incapacity conditions like dementia. Currently however, only 928,000 Health and Welfare LPAs are registered with the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) across England and Wales. A startling disparity of 93%.
If this trend continues, by 2025 the research estimates that 15.2 million people could face the horrific prospect of mental incapacity, with only 2.2 million LPAs being put in place. When the figures indicate that 13 million people could end their lives imprisoned with decisions that are not their expressed wishes, the importance of LPA becomes increasingly clear.
Jeremy Hughes CBE, Chief Executive of Alzheimer’s Society, said: “Lasting powers of attorney for health and welfare too often get overlooked.
“People with dementia have the right to make choices about their care, just like anyone else. Making someone they trust their attorney for health and welfare is one of the ways people can do this. A health and welfare LPA provides reassurance to them and the act of creating one can start useful conversations about the future with family and friends.”
With an aging nation, the fear of increasing incapacity is now a reality we all must face. Burying our heads in the present sand of youthful naivety will only cause misery to those we love in our later lives. We must proactively consider the future and sensibly plan to ensure our wishes are carried even after our ability to vocalise them.
Do you know people that have struggled to have their needs met because of mental incapacity? Are the legal service users that you work with still reluctant to discuss end of life decisions? Are you seeing a more transparent and forward-thinking society that are planning for the future?
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