First of all, don't panic. If I were you, there are a number of things I would plan...
I would go for a weekend visit so you can observe the areas that he might be needing some help with.
You cannot do everything so if you notice areas where you think he needs some help then contact social services for his area and ask them for a needs assessment. They should then put in place any care package he might need.
Getting him to give you LPA for finance and LPA for health and welfare are important but you would not be the first one to not manage to get it done. One way is to ask dad who he wants to help him with money when he needs this. The LPA is an insurance for the future that when needed you are the one he wants to get help from. You can point out to him that if he doesn't sort this now then the local council can step in and be the ones to do it. If he is worried about you absconding with his money then you can tell him that that cannot happen as you have to provide reports to the courts to show you are doing things correctly. You can tell him too that the LPAs would allow you and him to work together to ensure that he is able to stay where he is for as long as possible.
Is he already having problems with finances? If so, then firstly consider diverting his mail to yours. Get him to sign a form for the bank asking for online banking to be set up. The reason for diverting the mail is because they will send the password to his address and you need to get it before he throws it away. In addition, you want to see a whole cycle of one or two months for the bills he has coming in, what his bank statements say, etc. then I would set up online banking on your computer so you can manage his bills for him. Lots of us have had to go down this road, particularly when an LPA hasn't been forthcoming.
On your visit down there, if you dad has friends or good neighbours then give them your contact details. You can also give your contact details to the local police station in case your dad encounters them at some point. As there is no immediate family in the area then consider putting a key safe in so that if there is an emergency then emergency services can access the keys and let themselves in.
Hope this helps,
Fiona