List of Registered Medical Practitioners who are Lasting Power of Attorney Certificate Issuers

Ms Joan Pereira asked the Minister for Social and Family Development whether the Ministry will consider publicising the list of registered medical practitioners who are certificate issuers of a Lasting Power of Attorney in each neighbourhood for the convenience of residents, particularly senior citizens.

A Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) is a legal document which allows a person who is at least 21 years of age (a donor), to voluntarily appoint another person (a donee) to make decisions on his behalf when he loses mental capacity. When completing an LPA, the LPA form must be witnessed and certified by an LPA Certificate Issuer. The purpose of the Certificate Issuer is to certify that the donor understands the purpose of the LPA and the scope of the authority conferred under it, as well as ensure that there is no fraud or undue pressure used to induce the donor to create an LPA. A Certificate Issuer can be any one of the following professionals in Singapore, namely, a medical practitioner accredited by the Public Guardian, a practising Singapore qualified lawyer, or a registered psychiatrist.

As of 31 August 2016, there are 364 medical practitioners accredited as Certificate Issuers. The list of accredited medical practitioners can be found on the Office of the Public Guardian’s (OPG) website, www.publicguardian.gov.sg. This includes the addresses and contact numbers of their clinics. We recently introduced an updated list which categorises the Certificate Issuers based on the geographic location of their clinics, for easier search of a Certificate Issuer. In addition, the public can call in to the OPG helpline for assistance on identifying the accredited doctors in their vicinity.

Currently, all accredited doctors are issued with an accreditation letter informing them of their appointment as well as an LPA Accredited Certificate Issuer decal. These accredited doctors are encouraged to display the decal at their clinic, as this will serve to increase the visibility of Certificate Issuers around the various neighbourhoods.