Mental capacity

[Exhaust]

Can anyone give me advice on mental capacity ? Our 23 year old daughter lives at home with her family . As parents can we make desicionsfor her if she is unable to

[Hidden]

You will need to set up a Power of Attorney document then you can act for her in both monetary and health issues. It is not so easy when someone doesn;t have mental capacity to understand. I would see a solicitor if you can afford it or Citizens Advice. Headway could probably advise you on this.

[Exhaust in reply to Hidden]

Thank you xx

[Hidden in reply to Exhaust]

You are welcome. We have just been through all this with my mother, husband and a sister in law!!!!

[Hidden]

Does she want you to?

[sealiphone]

This is the CAB basic info about managing someones affairs, a bureau will be able to give more technical information:

citizensadvice.org.uk/famil...

[cat3]

So sorry about your daughter's accident. As already mentioned, CAB or a solicitor will assist you in arranging power of attorney and, remember, you're entitled to a free half-hour with most solicitors.

I looked back at your previous posts and noted that your daughter paces a great deal. Does she have reasonably good mobility and the opportunity to take walks as a way of relieving her restlessness ? x

[Exhaust in reply to cat3]

Yes she is totally mobile the only thing she really does is walk /pace from 5.30 am to 7 pm when she is so exhausted she goes to bed . We can not get her to rest in the day unless we go out in the car . On average she does 15.000 steps a day according to a fitbit we get her to wear .

[Exhaust in reply to cat3]

Apparently we can not get power of attorney for her as she doesn't have capacity to authorise this so it all has to go through the courts /ward of court which I am not happy about .

[cat3 in reply to Exhaust]

Yes, without compliance it does have to be overseen by a court, but once you've submitted the necessary form with details of your daughter's issues, I'm sure it'll be a formality.

Is there nothing the doctors can prescribe to calm your poor girl's agitation ; such an exhausting situation for you all I'm sure. x

[Calrich]

Has she been assessed ? X

[Exhaust in reply to Calrich]

Yes a clinical psychologist has assessed her . They say at this time she doesn't have capacity !!!!!

[Exhaust in reply to Calrich]

One day she may if things improve . Why we aren't allowed to be health and welfare power of attorney I do not no .

[Calrich in reply to Exhaust]

I know absolute pain, when my daughter was in hospital I wanted some medical information releasing and they wouldn’t do it until they did an assessment for capacity as she needed to sign to release the information.As parents we have no say as they are adults in there own right, I think we all need a power of attorney so our families can make decisions for us if ever needed, I will be doing this in the near future, scary to think Doctors etc can over rule our families and make decisions in our best interests! X

[Carik]

Hi there, my son is 25 and we are 5 years on from his brain injury. He has been assessed by a Consultant Neuro psychologist and deemed not to have capacity. We had to apply to the court for me to become his lay deputy. This took approx 4 months and we did it through the solicitor ( it costs a few thousand) but if you have the report confirming she lacks capacity you can do the application yourself and it's much cheaper. Good luck. X

[Hidden]

The system is a real pain but it is there to stop vulnerable people being taken advantage of. Do start the process as soon as you can and then life will be simpler for you. Ask your daughter's social worker to help with the forms, they know the best way to do it - they helped with ours.

Good luck.

[Hidden]

You can go to 3 different consultants and get 3 different answers on anything medical and psychological assessments are particularly subjective.

Your easiest route if your daughter is happy for you to have power of attorney is to get another assessment deeming her fit to make her own decisions then simply organising power of attorney normally - should cost less than couple hundred.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

This seems a very bad idea, as we know she isn't able to give informed consent so the Power of Attorney is invalid and therefore all actions taken on her behalf may be considered fraudulent.

Psychological tests are not subjective, in fact they are standardised and compared to normal distribution in the population, just the same as a IQ test.

I suggest you contact the Headway telephone advice line also the local Headway group may have links to solicitors who provide assistance in this area of law.

[Hidden in reply to sealiphone]

Do we know she isn't able to give informed consent?

The tests are standardised, the results can vary.

Eg based on procedure - were all tests done at once over 6 hours so subject to fatigue, or split over a number of sessions for more accurate results?

Eg based on environment - were the tests conducted in a busy clinical environment where conflicting noises/over stimulation could impact results, or in calm home environment?

Eg based on interpretation - does the clinical psych place more importance on memory, or emotional lability, or processing times?

Eg based on professional knowledge - does the clinical psych have the knowledge of tools and strategies to manage daily living with a brain injury and would they be less likely to deem a patient unfit if they were a neuropysch with this knowledge?

I don't know the girl in question so have no idea of circumstances but it is worth some thought, and as you say, consulting directly with Headway for advice.

[sealiphone in reply to Hidden]

The OP says her daughter has been tested and deemed not to have capacity, you may try to argue in court that the test was wrong but it doesn't sound like a good strategy.

Even when things are done in the interest of the doner it can become complicated. For example purchase a car in the interest of the doner but who drives and for what primary purpose is it used can cause family arguments and in one case I'm aware of the police and Court of Protection became involved.

[Hidden]

The damage to family relationships is another topic I think - right now I'm just putting forward an alternative approach for their practical issue. I'm neither a clinician nor lawyer so don't think I've anything else useful to add. Sure Headway can advise further.