Madeline, a POhWER Advocate, met Sheldon whilst she was providing a drop-in to patients in a hospital. Sheldon asked to speak with her and explained that he wanted to make a Will but when he spoke to a firm of Solicitors and explained where he was, he was informed they could not help him. Sheldon was quite anxious about getting his financial affairs in order as he had a number of health issues including Alzheimer’s disease. Sheldon did not have any family but has a couple of very good friends.

Madeline suggested that Sheldon could ask for the Doctor’s support to confirm he was capable of making the decision to draw up a Will. Sheldon told her that he had a Multidisciplinary Team (MDT) meeting the following week, but he did not usually attend. Instead, he usually saw the Doctor after the meeting to be informed of any decisions which had been made. Madeline suggested to Sheldon that she could accompany him to this meeting and support him to make the team aware of the difficulties he was experiencing and how it was making him feel. Sheldon thought this was a good idea.

The following week Madeline spoke with Sheldon prior to his MDT meeting to make notes on the support he needed so they could be used as prompts in the meeting. Sheldon had a few issues he wanted to raise. The main issue was that he wanted to make a Will to reflect his wishes for his finances following his death.  

Sheldon did not feel well enough to attend his MDT meeting, therefore Madeline, with Sheldon’s agreement, attended on his behalf. Madeline raised Sheldon’s concerns and they were all addressed by the team. Actions were put in place to support Sheldon to be able to make a Will.

A few weeks later Sheldon made a Will with a Solicitor of his choice. This reassured him as he felt that everything was now in order.

With our advocate’s support, Sheldon was able to maintain an element of independence and control over his life. Having Madeline’s support to help him sort out his issues improved Sheldon’s emotional health and wellbeing and made him feel more confident. Staff told Madeline that Sheldon had been spending more time in the communal areas and had been more sociable.