You can ensure, as far as possible, that your wishes for your future health and social care needs are acted on, by appointing someone you trust as your welfare power of attorney. This person has legal authority to make decisions on your behalf. You can appoint one or more persons to have welfare powers of attorney.
You choose what powers you want your attorney to have. For example:
- deciding on your care arrangements
- deciding where you should live
- having access to confidential or personal information about your welfare such as health records
- making medical treatment decisions
- making decisions on your clothes, personal appearance, diet, leisure activities or holidays
- consenting to you taking part in research
- consenting to tissue or organ donation
- bringing or defending legal actions to do with your welfare.
Welfare attorneys can only take on their powers if you become incapable of making these decisions yourself.
All powers of attorney which will continue or start on incapacity must contain a statement that you (the granter) have considered how incapacity is to be determined in relation to decisions about the matters to which the power relates.
Under the Act's principles your welfare attorney must always take your past and present wishes into account when making these decisions. So, it is important to make sure he or she knows as much as possible about your preferences. For example, talk to him or her about your personal welfare concerns, such as medical conditions, how you would hope to be cared for in the future, religious or spiritual matters, any particular difficulties in family relationships, your preferences for diet, appearance and holidays. You could make a list of all the things that are important to you and give a copy to your attorney, or you could ask him or her to keep a note of your wishes.
What your attorney can't do
A welfare attorney cannot make a will for you, appoint a successor or do anything the power of attorney document does not list.