[LINK] Advance care planning

[Stephen Loosley]

Probably a very good idea to fill out one of these forms ..

http://www.advancecaredirectives.sa.gov.au/upload/home/ACDFormSecure.pdf

Eg: http://theconversation.com/its-your-choice-how-to-plan-for-a-better-death-3232

Have you thought about how you would want to be treated if you cannot make your own decisions?

You may be unconscious after car accident, you may be so ill you cannot communicate, or you may be dying and cannot convey your wishes. Would you want to be kept alive on life support if there is no hope of recovery?

Thinking ahead about how we would like to be cared for if we can no longer make our own decisions is called advance care planning. It’s a simple idea, but one most of us find difficult to do.

Advance care planning is about having a conversation with those close to you so they understand your values. It’s important to record those wishes and decisions on a document so it can be referred to when you cannot make those decisions. It’s also important to decide who you would want to make your decisions when you cannot.

These documents are usually called advance care plans, or if they are legal documents they are called advance care directives. An advance care directive is a formal document recognised under common law or under specific legislation, in which the person can record their preferences about their future care and/or appoint a substitute decision-maker, who will make the decisions guided by the person’s wishes.
(This does not usually include financial decisions which are covered by another legal document called an Enduring Power of Attorney.) ... (snip)

Advance care directive documents in SA, for example, have now been simplified and include decisions about future health care, end-of-life care, living arrangements and other personal matters, as well as appoint one or more substitute decision makers.

Advance care directives are not about euthanasia nor about demanding treatment. They are about respecting your wishes when you are unable communicate.

Making decisions in advance is a very simple idea, but it is actually quite complex involving the law, medicine and human relationships. To create an advance care directive, you need to:

    have the conversation
    decide who you want as a decision-maker
    complete the relevant document
    give those close to you copies.

It’s a great investment for your future. 

Also: http://www.advancecaredirectives.sa.gov.au


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Cheers,
Stephen