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Advance Decisions (Living Wills) and Advance Statements
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When you are ill, you can discuss treatment options with your healthcare professional and jointly reach a decision about treatment and care. For many people, there will come a time when you are not capable of making decisions for yourself, such as choices about your care and treatment due to illness like dementia or if you become unconscious as a result of an accident, COVID-19, stroke etc.
What options are available to me in such situations?
Options include: Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA), Advance Decisions or Advance Statement.
An LPA becomes effective upon registration, a process that can take 10 weeks or more after submitting the application to the Office of the Public Guardian. Therefore, it is not a solution for immediate medical concerns if you lack a registered LPA (health and welfare) granting authority to your attorney. On the other hand, an Advance Statement is a non-legally binding statement of your wishes.
What is an Advance Decision?
An advance decision is a choice made now to refuse a specific type of treatment in the future. It’s a practical document, allowing you to give instructions directly to your medical professional. It informs your family, carers, and health professionals about your wishes regarding refusing treatment if you are unable to make or communicate those decisions.
The persons making the decisions should be:
- Aged 18 or over.
- Possess capacity at the time Advance Decision is made.
- The document is in writing and signed as a deed.
You can use an Advance Decision (Living Will) to refuse any medical treatment including life-sustaining treatment, such as:
- Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops.
- Being put on a ventilator if you cannot breathe on your own.
- Being given food or fluids artificially, for example through a drip, a tube through the nose or through a tube directly into the stomach.
- Antibiotics for a life-threatening infection.
- Treatment that you can refuse includes life-sustaining treatment such as refuse a blood transfusion for religious or spiritual reasons.
- Refuse treatment if you still have the capacity to give or refuse consent.
- Refuse basic care that is essential to keep you comfortable, such as washing or bathing.
- Refusing food or drink by a mouth.
- Refuse the use of measures designed solely to maintain comfort (i.e. painkillers).
- Demand specific treatment.
Think carefully about whether there are any treatments you would not want to receive in certain situations.
You should discuss your Advance Decisions with a healthcare professional who knows your medical history and the risks and benefits of refusing certain treatments. You may also want to discuss it with your family and friends so that they understand your wishes.
- Advance statements are similar to advance decisions but are not the same thing. An Advance Statement gives you the option to explain your wishes and views for the future, rather than refusing certain specific treatments. Often an Advance Statement is referred to as a ‘statement of wishes and care preferences’.
- You could use an Advance Statement to express your wishes on future care options, such as where you wish to live, or the type of care and support you wish to receive. You could also use it to express other wishes and preferences not directly related to care, such as the food you would like.
- An Advance Statement provides an opportunity to ensure that your values and wishes are taken into account by the people who make decisions for you. You can also include a list of people, such as your partner, family, or friends, whom you wish to be consulted by health and social care professionals when they are making decisions about your care.
- An Advance Statement can be made verbally, or you can write it down. It is better to put it in writing because then it is a permanent record of your wishes.
How can we help?
Contact us if you need to prepare Advance Decision or Advance Statement.
Get in touch with us today.
Disclaimer: The information on the Apex Estate Planners Ltd website is for general information only and reflects the position at the date of publication. It does not constitute legal advice and should not be treated as such. It is provided without any representations or warranties express or implied
