THE Holyrood and local governments have recently been promoting the arranging of powers of attorney and reinforcing the desirability of having one in place.
I presume this is, along with the general desirability of individuals arranging a power of attorney (POA) to cater for unforeseen circumstances, in recognition of the increasing diagnoses of dementia and the problems that can arise when a person can no longer look after their own affairs.
This is laudable. However, it will make very little progress unless something is done to cap the fees which GPs can charge for signing the certificate necessary to confirm the capacity of someone entering into a power of attorney.
It is highly desirable and recognised in legal circles that the best person to sign a certificate, certainly in cases where capacity is impaired to a degree, is the individual’s GP. But the signing of such certificates falls outwith the standard GP contract and instead comes under “private practice”. Therefore, in theory a GP can charge whatever they like to sign such a certificate. At the moment it is a postcode lottery.
The charge can be as much as £160 and I am aware of two instances of this recently. In one case the individual was 70 and in the other they were in their eighties. For both there was no question that arranging a power of attorney was highly desirable given their state of health.
For some GPs to charge elderly patients of limited means what is the equivalent of a week’s pension is outrageous, unjustified and short-sighted. Putting in place a power of attorney removes pressure from the social services and gives peace of mind to the individual concerned and their family, which in turn can only lead to enhancement of their wellbeing, which reduces pressure on the GP’s resources. The arranging of a POA for the elderly or those in the early stage of dementia is not “elective”. It is often essential for the financial, physical and emotional wellbeing of the patient.
If the GP contract cannot be renegotiated and the signing of these essential certificates remains outwith the basic contract (which it should not), the BMA should issue guidelines as to a generally affordable maximum. Presently they are unwilling to do so. Failing this, GPs should show goodwill by agreeing informally a modest maximum charge to ensure that excessive charges are not perpetrated on one of the most vulnerable sections of our community at a very stressful time in their lives for a service which should be provided free in the first place.
If some GPs can treat their patients fairly, so can they all.
William Thomson,
25 Lithgow Place, Denny.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel