Advance Care Planning

Why plan for the inevitable?

It may seem odd to plan for an end of life given that you can’t escape the consequences. But everyone wants to think that their last days on earth will culminate in a “good death”. An Advance Care Plan allows you to specify in writing how you would like to be cared for when you are no longer able to make your wishes known. It enables you to agree to or decline clinical interventions and to nominate a Substitute Decision Maker who can make choices on your behalf, informed by your pre-recorded preferences.

It’s such a good idea you would think that everyone would have one but the reality is most of us don’t. It seems that while we are happy to plan beyond the grave (allocate our assets, detail our funeral and pre-purchase memorial sites) we are reluctant to contemplate our journey there. While it’s understandable that we don’t feel comfortable considering the prospect of declining capabilities and loss of independence, avoiding the conversation unfortunately means someone else may be making our end of life choices for us. 

There won’t be a better time than now to start thinking about what makes life worth living and what makes it unendurable, to have a conversation with someone you trust about your wishes for end of life care. And to document those wishes so they provide clear guidance for your appointed Substitute Decision Maker, your doctors and your family in the event that you can no longer speak for yourself.

This site provides you with tools, resources and conversations that will help you initiate difficult conversations and provide some insight as to how others have tackled this unavoidable human condition. 

Start by asking yourself these questions:

1. What things matter most to you / what are your goals?
2. What are your fears about what is to come?
3. How do you like to make decisions and who do you want to be involved?
4. What would you like do as time runs short?
5. How important are the following considerations:

• Managing pain and suffering
• Longevity
• Dignity 
• Independence

Join the social media conversation Unspoken; Ageing Parents

Resources

• Better Health Channel - Information on advance care planning
• Advance Care Planning Australia - practical tools and resources to create an advance care plan
• My Values - an online tool to help you identify what's most important to you
• Aged Care Report Card - read reviews of residential aged care facilities in Australia
• Alzheimer's Australia VIC - information and support for those living with dementia and their carers 
• Council of the Ageing - the peak national organisation representing the rights, needs and interests of older Australians
• Seniors Online Victoria - a Victorian Government website that aims to be the first port of call online for older Victorians
• Office of the Public Advocate - provides legal advice and support to people with disability (e.g. mental illness, dementia)

For more information, contact us.