Advance care planning process

What matters most to me now? What will matter most to me when I become less well?

Your advance care planning process will be guided by you and your beliefs, values and preferences.

Spend time gathering your thoughts and thinking about what ‘living well’ means to you. Do you have any worries about your future? Does your health affect your day-to-day life? If you become unwell, who would you like around you and where would you prefer to receive care? Are there any medical treatments that you would not want?

These resources may help you to consider these questions and think about what matters to you:

• MyValues (external site) provides a set of statements designed to help you identify, consider and communicate your wishes about future care and treatment.
• What Matters Most cards order from Palliative Care WA (external site) or by calling 1300 551 704.

Why is advance care planning important?

Advance care planning can give you peace of mind by knowing that others understand your wishes in case a time comes when you are no longer able to tell them what is important to you.

It can also make it easier for your family, friends and health professionals who may care for you in the future.

Families and friends of those who take part in advance care planning say they feel less stressed and are happier with the care their loved one received.

Talking about advance care planning is a way of letting your loved ones and those involved in your care know what you do and do not want to happen with your future health and care. A close or loving relationship does not always mean someone knows what is important to you. Having a conversation can be very important.

Who can you talk to about advance care planning?

You might want to discuss your needs and what is important for you with people you trust. This may include:

• family
• friends
• carer(s)
• enduring guardian(s) (if appointed)
• GP or another member of your healthcare team
• legal professional
• cultural or spiritual person.

The Where to get help section has a list of services who you can talk to about advance care planning.

What are some things to talk about?

Talk to your loved ones about your values and beliefs, and the care you would like when you are unwell.

Discuss your health concerns and options for future care with your health professionals. 

The Advance Care Planning Australia conversation starters (external site) can help you when talking to others.

It can be uncomfortable to talk about what might happen if you become unwell in future. It may help to think about the right time to have the conversation and find a place that feels comfortable. Family and friends often have their own opinions about what you should consider in advance care planning. While it may be helpful to hear what others think, remember that you should decide what is best for you.

Take your time – remember that advance care planning is an ongoing conversation and you do not need to talk about everything at once.

It is important to write down the choices you have made. People can read your choices and know what help you want.

In WA there are different documents you can use to make your values and choices for your future care known. The documents are:

Complete by you

• Advance Health Directive
• Enduring Power of Guardianship (external site)
• Values and Preferences Form: Planning for my future care

Complete by someone else on your behalf

• Values and preferences statement for a person with impaired decision-making capacity
• Goals of Patient Care form.

See Advance care planning documents and resources for more information on these documents. The ‘Write’ section in Your Guide to Advance Care Planning in WA also has more information and comparison of the documents.

Thinking about what types of decisions and thoughts (PDF 1486KB) you want to share will help you decide which document(s) could be useful.

Tip: You can have both an Advance Health Directive and an Enduring Power of Guardianship.

Who will make treatment decisions for me if I cannot make or communicate my own decisions?

Health professionals follow a certain order when  they need a decision about your treatment if you cannot make decisions or tell people what you want.

This is called the Hierarchy of treatment decision-makers. If you become unable to make or communicate your own decisions, this means that:

• if you have an Advance Health Directive, it will be used to guide treatment decisions for you
• if you do not have an Advance Health Directive but you have appointed an Enduring Guardian, your Enduring Guardian will be asked to make treatment decisions on your behalf
• if you do not have an Advance Health Directive or an Enduring Guardian, then health professionals will use the list above to find someone to make treatment decisions on your behalf, in the order listed until someone suitable and available is found.

It is important you understand who may make decisions for you. This can help you decide who you need to tell about what is important to you and which advance care planning document(s) would be useful.

What should I do with my completed advance care planning documents?

Pick a safe place to keep your original documents. Tell people close to you where to find them.

Upload a copy to My Health Record (external site) so health professionals can access the information.

You can also give a copy to people you trust :

• family, friends and carers
• enduring guardian(s) (EPG)
• enduring power(s) of attorney (EPA)
• health professionals and specialists (e.g. GP)
• residential aged care home
• local hospital
• legal professional.

Make a list of the people who have a copy of your advance care planning document(s). This will remind you who to contact if you change or cancel your document(s). See Frequently Asked Questions for more information on cancelling and updating documents.

If you decide to make an Advance Health Directive, you can also carry:

• an Advance Health Directive (AHD) alert card in your wallet (order online or contact the Department of Health Advance Care Planning Information Line on 9222 2300 or email acp@health.wa.gov.au).
• a medical alert bracelet or necklace to inform any treating doctors that you have created an Advance Health Directive.