Can a next of kin be nominated? And not family.
Discussion
It is a bit morbid, but I was thinking of this today.
I am married, no kids. My wife is my next of kin. If something happened to her, who would take over that role?
I'm thinking about those decisions where you might be asked to turn a machine off, or make some other sort of life or death decision.
I am an Only child, parents dead, I have two blood relatives who are aunts. One is 90 odd - I don't know if she is alive or not. The other lives thousands of miles away and although we are on good terms, we don't really know one another. I have cousins, but they are spread across the world and I am not close to any of them, I haven't even met all of them.
I do have my oldest friend. We are like brothers and we regard him as so in my family. Is it possible to nominate a non-relative as NOK?
I am married, no kids. My wife is my next of kin. If something happened to her, who would take over that role?
I'm thinking about those decisions where you might be asked to turn a machine off, or make some other sort of life or death decision.
I am an Only child, parents dead, I have two blood relatives who are aunts. One is 90 odd - I don't know if she is alive or not. The other lives thousands of miles away and although we are on good terms, we don't really know one another. I have cousins, but they are spread across the world and I am not close to any of them, I haven't even met all of them.
I do have my oldest friend. We are like brothers and we regard him as so in my family. Is it possible to nominate a non-relative as NOK?
Edited by wildcat45 on Tuesday 17th March 17:02
Next of kin can't make The decision to switch a machine on or off. It dosn't quite work like that.
It's a little more complex, simple version: patients pre-expressed wishes combined with best interests and some family input are used by medical teams to make decisions.
Unless things like advanced directives/DNRs and power of attorney are put in place.
It's a little more complex, simple version: patients pre-expressed wishes combined with best interests and some family input are used by medical teams to make decisions.
Unless things like advanced directives/DNRs and power of attorney are put in place.
Edited by jackh707 on Tuesday 17th March 19:29
An example of a "next of kin" card you'd keep in your wallet (this one from The Royal Free Hospital with some discussion about this scenario).
As upthread, final decisions to turn off life support or to refer the patient to palliative care (for two examples) are made by clinicians with input from and discussion with the "next of kin" (whoever that is
) - but the final decision is the clinicians'.
As upthread, final decisions to turn off life support or to refer the patient to palliative care (for two examples) are made by clinicians with input from and discussion with the "next of kin" (whoever that is
) - but the final decision is the clinicians'.wildcat45 said:
We've already got wills that in the event of both of use being killed that all we own all the insursce money goes to my friend and her sister.
I'd be bloody rich dead i tell you!
He said a living will. Something that states your wishes if you are not killed, but incapacitated such as needing a machine to maintain your life.I'd be bloody rich dead i tell you!
wildcat45 said:
TooMany2cvs said:
Sounds like you want to get a "living will" in place, possibly PoA in his favour, too.
We've already got wills that in the event of both of use being killed that all we own all the insursce money goes to my friend and her sister. I'd be bloody rich dead i tell you!
A living will gives an indication of your wishes whilst you're alive, but incapacitated/incapable of giving instructions directly.
http://www.patient.co.uk/doctor/advance-directives...
There are several ways you can plan your future health & welfare treatment:
Did you know you can simply write a statement of wishes and preferences?
It's not legally binding, but those looking after you must take your wishes or views into account as part of any best interest decision.
You can make an advanced directive, which, if you feel strongly enough can contain very detailed information on what treatment you DON'T want should you not have capacity to make those directives at the time, i.e. lose mental capacity. This is legally BINDING, however very great care should be exercised before making such, and you need to think carefully through all probable or even possible scenarios. It also need to avoid ambiguity, and you can never predict a eventualities. You can change an AD at any time provided you have the capacity to do so.
Finally, and equally popular is to create a Last Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare. You can appoint any attorney (I would recommend more than one) that you feel you can truly trust to make decisions about your treatment on your behalf. It does not have to be family members! This LPA can only be acted upon by the appointed attorney if you have lost capacity to act yourself. You can add restrictions or guidance for your attorneys to follow. The advantage is that unlike the AD where it has been created at a fixed time based on how you feel at that time, the LPA attorneys would naturally take into account circumstances and any prior expressed opinions, just before you lost capacity.
There is a heck of a lot more to this, and although you can do any of the above yourself, I would strongly recommend you seek professional advice, as there are hidden issues and considerations that may not seem obvious.
Good luck!¬
Did you know you can simply write a statement of wishes and preferences?
It's not legally binding, but those looking after you must take your wishes or views into account as part of any best interest decision.
You can make an advanced directive, which, if you feel strongly enough can contain very detailed information on what treatment you DON'T want should you not have capacity to make those directives at the time, i.e. lose mental capacity. This is legally BINDING, however very great care should be exercised before making such, and you need to think carefully through all probable or even possible scenarios. It also need to avoid ambiguity, and you can never predict a eventualities. You can change an AD at any time provided you have the capacity to do so.
Finally, and equally popular is to create a Last Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare. You can appoint any attorney (I would recommend more than one) that you feel you can truly trust to make decisions about your treatment on your behalf. It does not have to be family members! This LPA can only be acted upon by the appointed attorney if you have lost capacity to act yourself. You can add restrictions or guidance for your attorneys to follow. The advantage is that unlike the AD where it has been created at a fixed time based on how you feel at that time, the LPA attorneys would naturally take into account circumstances and any prior expressed opinions, just before you lost capacity.
There is a heck of a lot more to this, and although you can do any of the above yourself, I would strongly recommend you seek professional advice, as there are hidden issues and considerations that may not seem obvious.
Good luck!¬
3Dee said:
There are several ways you can plan your future health & welfare treatment:
Did you know you can simply write a statement of wishes and preferences?
It's not legally binding, but those looking after you must take your wishes or views into account as part of any best interest decision.
You can make an advanced directive, which, if you feel strongly enough can contain very detailed information on what treatment you DON'T want should you not have capacity to make those directives at the time, i.e. lose mental capacity. This is legally BINDING, however very great care should be exercised before making such, and you need to think carefully through all probable or even possible scenarios. It also need to avoid ambiguity, and you can never predict a eventualities. You can change an AD at any time provided you have the capacity to do so.
Finally, and equally popular is to create a Last Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare. You can appoint any attorney (I would recommend more than one) that you feel you can truly trust to make decisions about your treatment on your behalf. It does not have to be family members! This LPA can only be acted upon by the appointed attorney if you have lost capacity to act yourself. You can add restrictions or guidance for your attorneys to follow. The advantage is that unlike the AD where it has been created at a fixed time based on how you feel at that time, the LPA attorneys would naturally take into account circumstances and any prior expressed opinions, just before you lost capacity.
There is a heck of a lot more to this, and although you can do any of the above yourself, I would strongly recommend you seek professional advice, as there are hidden issues and considerations that may not seem obvious.
Good luck!¬
this Did you know you can simply write a statement of wishes and preferences?
It's not legally binding, but those looking after you must take your wishes or views into account as part of any best interest decision.
You can make an advanced directive, which, if you feel strongly enough can contain very detailed information on what treatment you DON'T want should you not have capacity to make those directives at the time, i.e. lose mental capacity. This is legally BINDING, however very great care should be exercised before making such, and you need to think carefully through all probable or even possible scenarios. It also need to avoid ambiguity, and you can never predict a eventualities. You can change an AD at any time provided you have the capacity to do so.
Finally, and equally popular is to create a Last Power of Attorney for Health & Welfare. You can appoint any attorney (I would recommend more than one) that you feel you can truly trust to make decisions about your treatment on your behalf. It does not have to be family members! This LPA can only be acted upon by the appointed attorney if you have lost capacity to act yourself. You can add restrictions or guidance for your attorneys to follow. The advantage is that unlike the AD where it has been created at a fixed time based on how you feel at that time, the LPA attorneys would naturally take into account circumstances and any prior expressed opinions, just before you lost capacity.
There is a heck of a lot more to this, and although you can do any of the above yourself, I would strongly recommend you seek professional advice, as there are hidden issues and considerations that may not seem obvious.
Good luck!¬
NoK means nothing in relation to medical or legal things
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