Sorry for this long post - bear with me. My mum is now in the moderate stage of dementia and was diagnosed last July 2014. She was prescribed Donepezil (Aricept) and took it for 4 weeks August/Sept 2014. My 3 sisters (one of whom is a nurse) and brother did not want her to take it based on my 3 sisters opinions that they thought she seemed more agitated for the 4 weeks she took it. I did not agree with their opinion as I was living with and caring for my mum at the time.
We do not have Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare. I stopped caring for my mum in March 2015 this year as I became too stressed. We had collectively agreed to employ carers to look after my mum at home at the time, however one sister, the nurse, overruled this, came to live with my mum for 2 months and then my sisters decided to put mum into a residential home. Mum did not settle in the home and ran away repeatedly as she was in the residential not the secure dementia wing. The home said they couldn't keep her in the residential side, so my sisters moved her to another residential home in the same town my nurse sister (I did not agree with this choice as it was not a specialist place). Mum only stayed there 4 weeks as she deteriorated rapidly. She has now been moved again for a the 3rd time in 7 months back to her own home and my nurse sister is now living there trying to set up carers in the home. This is full circle and back to what we agreed in March but she overruled it. My mum has deteriorated considerably in the past 18 months and is still not receiving any specialist medication despite my frequent requests to my sisters and brother and reminders that we have no authority to decide this. I have however just obtained agreement from all 4 to request a reassessment (via her GP) by the specialist consultants. I don't think the GP or Consultants are aware that we don't have LPA Health and Welfare. I would like to advise them of this and the history of mum as described above as I am not confident my sister nurse who is in situ will do this and be objective. What do you advise? I am very concerned that due to my family not agreeing to medication mum has deteriorated in the past year. Are the consultants able to overule them and prescribe medication? Also are my siblings in trouble legally for refusing her meds when they had no authority?
We do not have Lasting Power of Attorney Health and Welfare. I stopped caring for my mum in March 2015 this year as I became too stressed. We had collectively agreed to employ carers to look after my mum at home at the time, however one sister, the nurse, overruled this, came to live with my mum for 2 months and then my sisters decided to put mum into a residential home. Mum did not settle in the home and ran away repeatedly as she was in the residential not the secure dementia wing. The home said they couldn't keep her in the residential side, so my sisters moved her to another residential home in the same town my nurse sister (I did not agree with this choice as it was not a specialist place). Mum only stayed there 4 weeks as she deteriorated rapidly. She has now been moved again for a the 3rd time in 7 months back to her own home and my nurse sister is now living there trying to set up carers in the home. This is full circle and back to what we agreed in March but she overruled it. My mum has deteriorated considerably in the past 18 months and is still not receiving any specialist medication despite my frequent requests to my sisters and brother and reminders that we have no authority to decide this. I have however just obtained agreement from all 4 to request a reassessment (via her GP) by the specialist consultants. I don't think the GP or Consultants are aware that we don't have LPA Health and Welfare. I would like to advise them of this and the history of mum as described above as I am not confident my sister nurse who is in situ will do this and be objective. What do you advise? I am very concerned that due to my family not agreeing to medication mum has deteriorated in the past year. Are the consultants able to overule them and prescribe medication? Also are my siblings in trouble legally for refusing her meds when they had no authority?