Correspondence sent to donor who already lacks capacity

[Norfolkgirl]

Can anyone tell me please, whilst a donor has lost capacity (since at least 4 years ago but officially diagnosed only in Sept 2014) and her two Attorneys (joint + severally) have deliberately avoided registering the LPA with any organisation (apart from with the CoP) thus not using the LPA for fraudulent reasons, should the donor still be receiving correspondence from NHS England (re: GP patient survey - one sent Jan 2015 and another Feb 2015) sent to her name at her care home address (i.e. not the Attorneys as POA)? The Attorneys know the donor can't read or write properly.

Would this not suggest that such correspondence sent from NHS direct to the donor means that she would then be receiving all correspondence e.g. direct from her GP practice and thus wouldn't be appropriate since having lost capacity.

 

[Beate]

The NHS always send correspondence to the patient. They do not seem to grasp the fact that someone with dementia might not understand the letters. I am not quite sure what's that got to do with an LPA? I haven't registered a health & welfare LPA with them. Do people do that?

 

[Kevinl]

If the LPA isn't registered then the answer is probably yes. If no one knows about the LPA they why would they do anything other than keep dealing with that person?
Even thought my wife has AZ the NHS always address the letters to her even the ones that spell out her lack of capacity in the letter itself, until I register my LPA and tell them that's how I'd expect it to be.
K

 

[Norfolkgirl]

If the LPA isn't registered then the answer is probably yes. If no one knows about the LPA they why would they do anything other than keep dealing with that person?
Even thought my wife has AZ the NHS always address the letters to her even the ones that spell out her lack of capacity in the letter itself, until I register my LPA and tell them that's how I'd expect it to be.
K

In your case it is different because presumably you share same address with your wife and therefore can keep an eye on correspondence addressed to her.

If your loved one has lost capacity (who you don't live with), can't read or write properly, would it not be expected as an attorney to file an LPA with the GP so that any important correspondence from the GP goes direct to the Attorney/their address for them to deal with (thus bypassing the donor who doesn't understand what she's reading)? The same goes for filing the LPA with banks etc.

 

[Kevinl]

It's for the attorneys to use the LPA as they see fit. I take it you have discussed this with them and if so what is the reason they've not told the doctors?
If you've made them aware of the situation and they've refused to do anything then they're not really acting in the best interest of the patient.
I noticed you said that it was NHS patient surveys that arrived, as far as I know the Care Quality Commission carries these out and I don't know that they are actually integrated into the NHS in terms having any access to patients medical records.
They send these out to people who have interacted with the NHS to see it's all up to standard they're not in any way connected to the medical side of things.
K

 

[Katrine]

When someone is in residential care the situation is different to when the person lived at home. The CH has primary responsibility for seeking appropriate medical treatment. They will liaise with GPs and district nurses as needed and won't necessarily inform family members, other than recording routine/minor visits and treatment in the care plan.

If a welfare attorney, or primary welfare contact, wishes to be informed of all NHS contact with the resident then they should discuss this with the CH manager and have it explicitly recorded in the care plan.

It is up to the attorneys to notify all relevant organisations of their attorneyship, providing a certified copy of the document, and stating their requirements for addressing future correspondence. By default, I would expect NHS departments to write to the patient at their registered address, which will be the one provided to the GP practice.

We have registered our Guardianship of my mum with the local GP, and with the main hospital where she will also have treatment notes. If she was admitted to hospital on an emergency basis I would expect the admissions team to contact me straight away to be sure that I was in the communications loop.

 

[Norfolkgirl]

It's for the attorneys to use the LPA as they see fit. I take it you have discussed this with them and if so what is the reason they've not told the doctors?

If you've made them aware of the situation and they've refused to do anything then they're not really acting in the best interest of the patient.
I noticed you said that it was NHS patient surveys that arrived, as far as I know the Care Quality Commission carries these out and I don't know that they are actually integrated into the NHS in terms having any access to patients medical records.
They send these out to people who have interacted with the NHS to see it's all up to standard they're not in any way connected to the medical side of things.
K

I don't need to discuss, they were already aware - they are giving the impression that the donor doesn't lack capacity so they can get her to sign cheques (to give gifts) for the benefit of the Attorneys, fraudulently hence the reason they haven't lodged with banks to avoid exposure.

Exactly, they are not acting in the best interests of the donor which survey sent to donor that I have is proof the attorneys still haven't lodged the LPA with anyone (so as to falsely imply the donor has capacity)

According to the letter I have in front of me which I retrieved from the donor it is signed off by Director for Patient and Public Voice and Information, rather than CQC.

 

[garnuft]

It's a data collection quango and not connected to patient information in any way other than to gather information/feedback.
Nothing to do with LPA's or capacity, just a name on a database.

 

[Beate]

I think you are confusing LPAs here: not having told the NHS about a health and welfare one has nothing to do with not having registered a financial LPA with a bank. I was always under the impression that you use the health one only if you need it for example if you need to make a care home or hospital decision. I am afraid the fact the donor has been sent a patient questionnaire by someone cannot really be used as a proof that someone is not acting in the donor's best interest.