24 July 2025
The role of a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney in hospital decisions
By Emma Langley, Director, Hayes + Storr.
Being appointed under a Health and Welfare Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) gives you important legal authority to make personal welfare decisions for someone who has lost mental capacity. However, many attorneys are unsure how this power applies, particularly in a hospital setting.
What does a Health and Welfare Attorney do?
A Health and Welfare LPA allows the donor (the person who made the LPA) to appoint one or more people to make decisions about their health, care, and daily welfare if they can no longer decide for themselves. This includes matters such as medical treatment and care arrangements.
Attorneys must always act in the donor’s best interests, taking into account their known wishes and personal values, even if the donor can no longer communicate them.
Using an LPA in hospital
If the donor is admitted to hospital and loses capacity, your role as attorney becomes active. It’s important to present the LPA to hospital staff and request that it be recorded on the hospital’s system. This helps ensure your authority is recognised and that decisions aren’t made without your involvement.
If there is more than one attorney, your ability to act may depend on how you were appointed. If attorneys are appointed jointly and severally, each can make decisions independently. If appointed jointly, all attorneys must agree on every decision, which can delay urgent action or lead to disagreement.
Making medical decisions
If the LPA includes authority to make decisions about life-sustaining treatment, you may be asked to give or refuse consent for specific treatments, surgery, or medications. You should be actively involved in care discussions and ensure that any decision made reflects what the donor would have wanted.
Doctors are required to involve you in decision-making when you hold this authority. However, they may still challenge a decision if they believe it conflicts with their duty to act in the patient’s best interests. It’s important to communicate openly with medical teams and, where needed, seek legal advice to clarify your position.
Discharge from hospital and ongoing care
Discharge from hospital often raises complex issues. As attorney, you’ll be involved in discussions about what happens next – whether your loved one can return home safely with support, or whether a care home placement is more appropriate. You should ensure that the care plan reflects the donor’s needs and preferences.
If you disagree with the hospital’s proposed discharge arrangements, you have the right to challenge them. Legal advice can help you advocate for alternative solutions that better reflect the donor’s best interests.
When disagreements arise
You may face disagreements with professionals or family members, or encounter legal concerns – such as whether a care home placement amounts to a deprivation of liberty.
Safeguarding concerns or conflicts over your authority as attorney can also be triggered by:
- concerns around the proposed discharge arrangements, particularly if professionals believe that returning home may not be safe; or
- tension or pressure from other family members or professionals who disagree with the decisions you are making as an attorney, even if you are acting in line with what the donor would have wanted.
Seeking legal advice can help you understand your position, assert your authority as an attorney, and ensure that decisions are lawful and genuinely reflect the wishes and rights of your loved one.
How we can help
Our team can support you with advice on your role as attorney, recognition of the LPA by medical professionals, and resolving disputes. If necessary, we can assist with Court of Protection applications. To speak to our Private Client team, email: law@hayes-storr.com or call 01328 863231.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. The law may have changed since publication.
