24 Mar National Advance Care Planning Week | March 22-26

By Hayley Weel
TDHS Social Worker

Advance care planning is the process of planning for your future health care. It helps to ensure your loved ones and doctors know what your health and personal preferences are and that these preferences are respected. Advance care planning benefits everyone: you, your family, carers and health professionals.

• It helps to ensure you receive the care you actually want
• It improves ongoing and end-of-life care, along with personal and family satisfaction
• Families of people who have undertaken advance care planning have less anxiety, depression, stress and are more satisfied with care
• For healthcare professionals and organisations, it reduces unnecessary transfers to acute care and unwanted treatment

Everyone should consider advance care planning, regardless of your age or health. Ideally, you should start planning when you’re healthy – before there’s actually an urgent need for a plan.

It is particularly important if you:

• are older
• have a chronic illness
• have multiple diseases
• have an early cognitive impairment
• are approaching the end of your life

Advance care planning doesn’t need to be complicated but it does require careful consideration. It involves thinking about your values and preferences for care and acceptable outcomes, talking about them with others, appointing someone to make decisions on your behalf and documenting everything.

To find out more information you can contact your GP clinic, Timboon & District Health Service or visit https://www.advancecareplanning.org.au/