A suite of resources to help Western Australians have more say about their health and personal care has been launched today.
Spearheaded by a new user-friendly Advance Health Directive (AHD), the resources include advance care planning guides for consumers and health professionals, online content and a guide to support people to complete their AHD.
An AHD is a legal document that allows people to record the treatments they consent or do not consent to receiving, if they become unable to make or communicate these important decisions themselves.
Advance care planning is a voluntary process of planning for future health and personal care and includes recording your values, beliefs, preferences, and treatment decisions.
There are several advance care planning documents that enable Western Australians to record and share their preferences and decisions. These include an Advance Health Directive, a Values and Preferences Form and Enduring Powers of Guardianship.
In 2017, WA Parliament's Joint Select Committee on End of Life Choices found that only 7.5 per cent of WA's population had adequately planned the health and personal care they would like to receive. The committee's report informed work on enduring strategy three of the Sustainable Health Review, the blueprint for the future of health care in WA.
Following a recommendation from the Committee, a Ministerial Expert Panel was formed to advise the Government on how more Western Australians could be better informed about advance care planning.
The new Advance Health Directive and supporting resources can be accessed at healthywa.wa.gov.au/AdvanceCarePlanning
As stated by Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson:
"Empowering people to make decisions about their own health, including end-of-life choices, is important.
"These are not easy conversations to have, but it is one you and your loved ones will be grateful you had.
"The new resources will benefit not only Western Australians approaching their end of life but anyone who wants to make their treatment decisions, values and beliefs known."
