Legal dilemma - can hospital override mums wishes?

I am the main cater for my elderly relative. She has Cancer and we suspect that she is reaching end of life care. She does not want to die in hospital and wants to be at home. I hold Ladying Power Of Attorney. Mum has a fracture in the Spine that is healing and Pneumonia that she is being treated for... can the hospital override he wishes by not allowing her home to die ?

Thanks in advance... any info will be greatly received.

Parents
  • So many variables. Not an easy question to answer without providing more detail. One of the most important parts is whether she's in sound mind as to make decisions for herself. If not, that's where things get complicated, and the hospital can and do override decisions.

    They have to cover their own back too. For example, if she's in such a bad way, that the journey home would likely kill her or seriously put her at risk, then keeping her in makes sense from a litigation pov. I mean, say something was to happen to her on the way home, how would you react if it transpired the hospital should never have let her do that journey? I know she's at the end of life, but there's a difference between natural causes and negligence.

    You're needing to speak to the hospital or seek advice from people who know the full story and have all the details at hand. It's not something someone on here can answer, unfortunately.

Reply
  • So many variables. Not an easy question to answer without providing more detail. One of the most important parts is whether she's in sound mind as to make decisions for herself. If not, that's where things get complicated, and the hospital can and do override decisions.

    They have to cover their own back too. For example, if she's in such a bad way, that the journey home would likely kill her or seriously put her at risk, then keeping her in makes sense from a litigation pov. I mean, say something was to happen to her on the way home, how would you react if it transpired the hospital should never have let her do that journey? I know she's at the end of life, but there's a difference between natural causes and negligence.

    You're needing to speak to the hospital or seek advice from people who know the full story and have all the details at hand. It's not something someone on here can answer, unfortunately.

Children
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