In this blog Nichola, LPA Associate and Project Manager, shares personal experience and tips when creating a Lasting Power of Attorney. Thank you Nichola for describing your reflections which I know will resonate with many.

My thanks to Sarah Malik for writing this blog exploring Compassion in Dying’s[i] new report: Rethinking the UK’s approach to dying. Sarah sets out why the report was created, what the results were and shares why it is so important to make plans from conversations.

[1] The purpose of this blog is to raise awareness of how we currently use existing legislation to exercise choice at the end of life. Publishing the blog is not an endorsement of work by Dignity in Dying.

My thanks to Rachel for writing about her experience of Advance Care Planning. Rachel attended the Advance Care Planning Conference held in May this year and was inspired to take action following the event. It was my pleasure to work with Rachel and explore what was needed for own Advance Care Planning and to create a plan right for this stage of her life.

In this blog I am proud to share the bespoke Advance Care Planning service I offer. Based on the principles of Getting Your House in Order, I work with clients exploring all elements of Advance Care Planning to create a unique and personalised document.

I was honoured to publish a blog about sharing your work through podcasts in September. It was a reflective piece to write and a great reminder of the incredible body of Advance Care Planning work that has been created through the podcast and of the fabulous guests I have spoken with.

Working as a Lasting Power of Attorney Consultant I am often asked how long it takes to set up a Lasting Power of Attorney. In this blog, stages involved in setting up an LPA, from the initial considerations to the final registration will be explained and I will set out how long it takes working with a client to create a Lasting Power of Attorney through Speak For Me LPA.

This blog explores bankruptcy, the Individual Insolvency Register and how these impact on Lasting Power of Attorney.  The specific question, can you be an attorney for Lasting Power of Attorney if you are on the insolvency register? will be answered and is in response to questions I have been asked.

Questions about Activation Codes remain one of the most common questions I receive. This short blog adds to the resource I have created already to explaining what Activation Codes are, how to obtain them what you need to know to view a Lasting Power of Attorney electronically. The specific question I will address in this blog answers the question; “how do I get a new Activation Key for a Lasting Power of Attorney?”

In May this year I was part of a rather ambitions, highly passionate and incredible team of people bringing together the UK’s first Advance Care Planning Day, an Advance Care Planning Conference and a UK Book Tour with authors of the bestselling book Hope for the Best Plan for the Rest.

This blog looks back on all of the events with comments from people involved. It begins by providing feedback from the Conference, ACP Day and UK Book Tour before listing resource you can access from all of the events. The blog closes with setting the path 2025 and an invitation to get in touch if you would like to be involved with future Advance Care Planning events.

On 15.12.2021 I released my first podcast with an aim to improve professional understanding, raise public awareness and normalise conversations about Advance Care Planning. Fast forward to July 2024 and one hundred episodes have been released, each focusing on a different element of Advance Care Planning. This blog celebrates those 100 episodes, the fabulous guests I have spoken with and groups the podcasts by theme.

It is always interesting to hear from other people and learn from experiences of either creating or using a Lasting Power of Attorney. An issue I have not covered before is gifting on behalf of another person when acting as their Court appointed deputy. In this blog I am grateful to Alex (an anonymised name) for sharing their experience.

Alex describes how they came to act as a deputy for their Mother, the lack of guidance they had when stepping into the role and the challenges they experienced when gifting on behalf of their Mother.

I am most grateful to Alex for sharing their experience and raising awareness about this often little understood element of deputyship. 

 

Many assumptions are used when we talk about Advance Care Planning, too often assumptions are made about the presence of children or family members available step into a caring role.

In this guest blog by Penny Shepherd, find out why this is becoming an increasing challenge to society and about what help and support is available to people who are ageing without children.

Thank you Penny.

In a recent article Dame Esther outlines her support for Assisted Dying.

My concern is that we may rush into legalizing Assisted Dying without first addressing opportunities to improve understanding and implement existing measures which can alleviate the fear of losing control over our end of life wishes.

In response to Dame Esther’s article, I aim to highlight some common fears and share practical steps we can take now to gain a sense of control over our end of life decisions.

I first met the wonderful Aly Dickenson back in 2022 when I wanted to learn more about the role of EoL Doulas. Talking with Aly resulted in the podcast The role of End of Life Doulas in Advance Care Planning and a valued connection.

Aly’s passion for Advance Care Planning is at the heart of her work; in this blog Aly describes her role as an EoL Doula and how she supports Advance Care Planning. Aly closes the blog with a powerful message calling for death and dying to be re-established in the heart of communities.

Thank you, Aly.

I have been doing my role for a long time; it scares me sometimes to acknowledge that means over 30 years, and most of that time has been focused on Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC). Somewhat unusually, I have worked across the spectrum and seen PEoLC through multiple lenses working is hospices, the community, the acute sector and even as a carer for a close family member. I have worked as a Specialist Advisor for the CQC and a Nurse Consultant for GSF. I founded Speak For Me to improve professional understanding, raise public awareness and normalise conversations about Advance Care Planning in 2021.The potted career history is my way of saying I have been in this game a long time and, whichever lens I look through, Advance Care Planning starts too late.
Many people have had a dream about having an Advance Care Planning Day to the UK; this blog is about how a dream has become reality.

I have been doing my role for a long time; it scares me sometimes to acknowledge that means over 30 years, and most of that time has been focused on Palliative and End of Life Care (PEoLC). Somewhat unusually, I have worked across the spectrum and seen PEoLC through multiple lenses working is hospices, the community, the acute sector and even as a carer for a close family member. I have worked as a Specialist Advisor for the CQC and a Nurse Consultant for GSF. I founded Speak For Me to improve professional understanding, raise public awareness and normalise conversations about Advance Care Planning in 2021.The potted career history is my way of saying I have been in this game a long time and, whichever lens I look through, Advance Care Planning starts too late.
Many people have had a dream about having an Advance Care Planning Day to the UK; this blog is about how a dream has become reality.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman report, released in March 2024 and calling for improvement in DNACPR conversations is the focus for this blog. It is an important document highlighting current failures in practice and recommending steps for the way forward.
The dual purpose of this blog is to place the report in context of other relevant and key publications and to highlight the findings of the report.

Advance Care Planning stories can bring to life the impact of planning ahead. I am proud to be hosting guest blogs, and this week to feature Advance Care Planning in the form of a case study and discussion with Dr Joe Cosgrove, a Consultant in Anaesthesia.
Dr Cosgrove describes an example of Advance Care Planning in practice, explaining the background to an anonymised patient case, what happened and lessons to be learned. It is a masterclass in proactive, personalised planning demonstrating zooming out, or seeing the long-term illness in an acute healthcare situation.
The blog closes with key messages for Advance Care Planning in a chronic and severe illness.

I am thrilled to host a guest blog by Bo Mandeville. Bo begins by describing who he is and the neurodegenerative condition he has been diagnosed with. Bo then shares why Advance Care Planning is important to him and the challenges he has faced in seeking appropriate care. Bo closes the blog with a call to arms for us all to recognise the importance of planning ahead and for the availability of support to do so.

“Where can I find resource to support Advance Care Planning?” is a question I hear often; this blog sets out what you can find on the Speak For Me website and invites you to let me know what other resource would be valuable.