Evaluating Capacity

[hotrod]

I have a realy dilema. I live a number of miles from my mum who was diagosed a year ago with Alzheimers, however my brother lives almost on the doorstep. Relations between my brother and I are not good (don't know why and he wont tell) and he has a huge amount of influence over my mum. He has told alot of people he has POA but I have had confirmation from OPG that this has not been registered. He has also advised he is going to meet with me to discuss getting more care for mum. She has a carer go in 1 day a week for 4 hours and a cleaner I think 2 days a week for 2 hours. I would like to get Adult Social care involved and get her more help but not sure about the capcity issue. My mother and father had an old fashioned marriage where the husband made all the decisions etc and therfore my mum hasn;t had to do much of it. Over the past years my brother has had a huge influence on mum (even to the extent of having me blocked from going to her initial assessment and finding out about her diagnosis. This has now been changed)and she very much listens to what he says and takes his advise, although not always I feel the best for her but it is for him.
To move forward I need to get my head round this capacity issue. How or who makes the decision that mum no longer has capacity? I really need to know as I know if I approach the authorities he will block me by influencing mum (not an easy situation) and if she still is deemed capable and says she doesn't need help I wont be able to get it AAARRRGGGHHH !!!!!!!!!! I need to be able to start putting things in place even if it does mean COP etc and upsetting the applecart with my baby brother but it needs to be done to give mum the quality of life she deserves. Just really frustrated about this capacity bit and when she is deemed incapacitated. Any help/guidance would be so much appreicated as feel totally out on a limb and mum is stuck very lonely and not doing well in all aspects of life at the moment :-(
Thanks in advance

[sue38]

Hi hotrod,

If your brother does in fact have a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare you're probably aware this cannot be used unless it has been registered and your mother lacks the capacity to make those decisions for herself.

He has also advised he is going to meet with me to discuss getting more care for mum

I read that as your brother suggesting a meeting to get more care for your mother, but
reading through your previous posts it seems that your brother is/was resistant to outside help and intervention from Social Services, so perhaps it's you who has suggested the meeting and he has agreed?

If Social Services have not been involved in your mum's care I'm guessing she hasn't had a Community Care Assessement. I think getting an assessment done is the first step, and then you/your brother/your mum can decide from there whether to go along with the recommendations. Do you think you mum, under your brother's influence, might refuse an assessment?

This is a link to the factsheet on the Mental Capacity Act which may help:

http://www.alzheimers.org.uk/site/sc...documentID=354

[hotrod]

Thanks Sue. She has had an assessment by the local 2Gether team and has now been refered to the Memory Management team. Who advise me that they will not assess her for another year, but we can pull them in earlier if we think we need to. I think it may be them I need to get to go in again but am waiting advise from a carers group re the capacity issue. I don't think she has had a community care assessment but when I spoke to Adult social care on Friday they advise that if she is still deemed capable then she can turn this down. hence my question about capability. I know my brother will influence her not to have one and then I am at a standstill again. I just want the best for mum and he needs to put aside his feelings for this one reason but doesn;t look like what I or anyone else does, this is going to happen :-(

With reagrd to the meeting I've have been told that he is going to speak to me by third parties but I have not suggested anything. If I try and call or speak to him he won't answer me the only form of contact is texting which I am more that aware is not good enough. But he gives me no other option. Must admit getting B***** fed up with it all and just want to do the right thing for my mum which I know is what my dad would have wanted us to do

[Norfolkgirl]

I feel for you. I've had problems for 2.5 years to protect my mum from being financially abused. She is oblivious. Her abuser tricked my mum out of substantial money (including for me, to make it look "above board" which I didn't cash) all this just before she needed to permanently go into care home (self funding) after a fall breaking her back. In fact the abuser didn't want mum to pay for respite care she badly needed cos he wanted the money for the family (he didn't say in so many words). I reported concerns to Age UK, Care home managers and mum's solicitor cousin but I realised eventually they were all protecting the abuser and abuser + solicitor both threatened me from reporting them. Abuser + solicitor cousin now got Power of Attorney for affairs registered + mum thinks I am on this also, which isn't true. My mum suffered brain damage in 2001 due to long term illness and has occasionally severe short term memory and fluctuating cognitive (ability to think) impairment. I went to the police, they can't do anything until mum gives consent. She won't give consent cos she doesn't believe what's going on and been influenced by the abuser to think he's innocent. Social Services did capacity test but deem her as having capacity but I disagree, she hasn't been able to manage her finances for years and gotten worse but she is in denial. Solicitors ask does she have mental capacity because it is unusual for a person of sound mind to refuse the crime to be investigated. Solicitor recommended getting GP who I explained the crime concerns to. He will refer her to psychiatrist and still waiting for the appointment. Apparently the psychiatrist takes into account cognitive aspects while Social Workers don't so I'm hoping she fails so that I can take steps to protect her. If she doesn't fail, then the abuser gets away with it scott free. He's already wealthy and certainly didn't need any extra money from mum. In fact, I've discovered his behaviour and other actions over the past 2.5 years I realise, he is a sociopath (look it up, it's shocking!). We were a very close + happy family until this. Any comments from anyone?