Bringing free legal advice to the bedside

Sinai Health System is partnering with a non-profit organization to provide free legal advice about Powers of Attorney to patients in our hospitals. Lawyers volunteering through Pro Bono Ontario (PBO) are available to help patients with granting powers of attorney for care as well as for property matters.

At Mount Sinai, a social worker will contact PBO and request that a lawyer visit a patient in the hospital within the next few days. At Bridgepoint, where patients often stay longer, the teams of lawyers will be visiting once a month for a free Powers of Attorney clinic.

Wendy Cameron, Professional Practice Lead, Social Work, at Bridgepoint and Sabrina Gaon, Manager, Interprofessional Allied Health and Mount Sinai, have been working with PBO to launch the legal service for patients.

“Patients who are in the hospital can’t easily leave to get to the bank or take care of other financial matters that may come up,” says Wendy, “Because they may be at Bridgepoint for weeks or months, if these matters aren’t taken care of they can risk losing their housing, leaving bills unpaid or having services cut off. A friend or family member can’t take care of these matters on the patient’s behalf without this legal power of attorney document in place.”

Two clinics have now been held at Bridgepoint, in November and December and a total of 22 patients were able to benefit from the legal expertise of teams of volunteer lawyers. The necessary paperwork can be completed in just one visit. In some cases, lawyers even met with patients at the bedside.

“The lawyers who volunteered were wonderful and I can’t say how much we appreciate them dedicating time to assist our patients. One patient told her Social Worker that she really appreciated the lawyers coming in and that it was so ‘smooth and organized working with them,” says Wendy. “Another Social Worker said that having the POA in place will make a significant difference for her patient who is unable to use a phone or leave the hospital to complete his banking.”