It is a scary prospect for anyone, but there may come a time when you are not able to make decisions for yourself. If this were to happen, you might choose family members or people that you know well to be able to make decisions for you. Carers UK, a charity supporting family carers, has some detailed information on managing someone’s affairs, which includes information relevant to all four home nations around relevant mental capacity laws and tips for using services, and Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA).
An LPA is a way of keeping control of who manages and makes decisions about your affairs if you cannot manage them yourself. The LPA is a legal document where you can name a person or people that know you best and you trust to make decisions on your behalf. You can make an LPA for decisions about your property and finances and your health and wellbeing. A health and welfare LPA gives your chosen people the right to make decisions about your medical care and social care, whilst a property and financial affairs LPA gives your chosen people the right to make decisions about any property you have (including maintaining or selling it) and paying bills.
The LPA can only be used if you lose mental capacity for decision making. You can process an LPA online on the government website or via paper forms.
An Advance Care Plan (ACP), is a record of your wishes, and decisions you’d like to be made about your care at the end of your life. This plan is written by you, often in partnership with your family and specialist health professionals, such as your multiple sclerosis (MS) nurse and then the plan is shared with relevant health care professionals so that your wishes can be known if you cannot express them yourself. Having an ACP in place will give both you and your family peace of mind that your wishes will be respected, where possible. Once you have made a plan you can make changes to it if you feel differently or change your mind. An ACP can cover all aspects of your healthcare or social care needs and can include anything that is important to you. Plans can include your religious or spiritual beliefs, which people you would like to be involved in your care, where you are cared for at the end of your life and how you prefer things to be done (e.g. you may like to listen to certain radio stations or have particular ways you like things done).
You can also include an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT) with your plan. The ADRT is sometimes known as a ‘living will’. A living will enables everyone involved in your care to know whether you want to refuse a specific type of treatment at some time in the future, such as the use of a ventilator or other forms of life-sustaining treatment.
Talking with your family and MS team about your wishes and the choices you would like to make, in case you become very unwell and can’t communicate clearly, can help everyone to be certain about the things you want.
