Justice
Minister Simon Hughes has suggested that pensioners should draw up legal plans setting out how they wish to be cared for in old age
to protect them against exploitation.
Since 2007 more than 900,000 elderly
people in the UK have registered lasting powers of attorney so that a person
can take decisions on their behalf if they lose mental capacity.
Ministers are
concerned that four out of five registrations relate only to property and
finance, rather than to health and welfare - with few pensioners drawing up
plans for how they want to be cared for, should they develop a condition such
as dementia.
Mr Hughes said the absence of such plans meant too many elderly
people were forced to live in circumstances they would never have chosen, while
others were put at risk of exploitation and abuse.
(source: The Sunday Telegraph)
