I am concerned about taking too long to die - bad for both self and family

Hi Anne



Thank you for your post.



You are able to specify the type of care that you want, or do not want, to receive when you have an illness. The process is called Advance care planning and it becomes especially important in cases like the example you have given above, when you become so unwell that you can no longer speak for yourself. If you have created an Advance Care Plan in advance, your doctors and family can understand how you would like to be cared for.



I can direct you to the following website which has all of the information you need to know about Advance Care Plans - what they are, how they work, why you should consider having one and a step by step guide on how to go about writing one. Importantly, it also links to the relevant documentation to complete as unfortunately it differs from state to state.



Respecting Patient Choices - http://www.respectingpatientchoices.org.au/



I hope this helps.



Kind regards,

Claire

On behalf of Palliative Care Australia



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