2023 - November and December - page 16
Image details
| Issue number | 395 |
|---|---|
| ISSN | 2632-7171 |
| Publication date | 1st November 2023 |
| Transcription |
magazine Feature Can I speak to the account holder? - LPAs, Record Access and me In this article, Elizabeth Thompson-MacRae, who is a Court Archivist for the National Records of Scotland and ARA Board Member, draws on her personal experience of Lasting Power of Attorney to ask the question – what can the record-keeping sector do to improve customer service experience? ’m an archivist, ARA Trustee, sibling and daughter. I eat more cake than is good for me and love watching back-to-back episodes of Downton Abbey on repeat. I also hold a Power of Attorney (PoA) for a loved one. Depending on where you stay in the UK, you may know this to be a Lasting Power of Attorney, Power of Attorney or A Power of Attorney. These are broadly similar pieces of legislation across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that, depending on the type of agreement held, empowers a third party to make health, welfare, property and financial decisions on your behalf, should you become incapacitated (Office of the Public Guardian 2023). Since acting in the capacity of PoA I have come to appreciate the unspoken difficulties of legally accessing information to administer and advocate for the needs of my relative. Unfortunately, since speaking to others acting in a similar capacity my difficulties and frustrations are far from unique. Many who are in a similar situation will find the following scenario a very familiar experience: Customer: Hello, I would like to discuss the direct debit of Ms Smith’s account, my name is Mr Smith and I am registered as LPA for this account. Call Handler: Can I speak to the account holder? Customer: I’m afraid not, but as a designated LPA I have the authority to discuss Ms Smith’s account on her behalf. If you check Ms Smith’s account you will note that a verified LPA is held on the account. 16 Call Handler: To deal with this, I will need to speak to the account holder please…. Surely, as a society, this shouldn’t be an inevitable reality that is simply accepted as ‘just one of those things’? Why should the profession care and what role can we play? The latest statistics from the ONS show that the application of LPAs is on the rise. Driven by an increasingly ageing population, LPAs are no longer a niche piece of legislation that can be easily overlooked. In an increasingly competitive environment, an organisation’s reputation is one of its strongest assets. A failure to recognise the impact of mishandling a LPA request could be a sting in the tail for the unaware. Aside from the unnecessary stress and frustration caused by an ineptly handled LPA related request, making information inaccessible for (often) vulnerable Man working at his desk © In-press photography for Centre for Ageing Better |