Advance Decisions (AD) used to be more commonly known as ‘Living Wills’. They were given the strength of statue law through the Mental Capacity Act 2005.
These are documents we should all consider drawing up to ensure that we do not receive life prolonging treatment that fundamentally we would not wish to receive. For example, a Jehova’s Witness might draw up an AD to preclude the possibility that they would be given a blood transfusion to save their life, someone else might not wish to be fed through a PEG (a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy – which is feeding through the stomach when a person can no longer swallow).
We all have our own personal views about end of life interventions. These can be discussed with a GP or Admiral Nurse. What we cannot achieve though is insisting that certain interventions are offered: I hear from many people who are very upset that their loved one has had ‘Do Not Resuscitate’ written into their medical notes. Some callers have gone to great lengths to get this instruction removed, to no avail. This is because artificially resuscitating a patient is very invasive – only around 10% of people experience a high quality of life following AR. Technically the person is dead, their heart has stopped beating so this is not the same as an intervention to prolong life but an attempt to bring someone back to life, an important distinction.
Planning ahead is helpful for ALL of us, not just people with a diagnosis of dementia/cancer/Parkinsons etc. To read through some example forms to create your own AD here are some links:
Or call or email us: 0203 405 5940/admin@pathwaysthroughdementia.org
Look out for our next Blog post which will talk about the ways an AD interacts with a Lasting Power of Attorney for Health and Welfare
