Advance care planning
Oakhaven is committed to promoting Advance Care Planning with all patients. Please access the information below to help promote ACP with patients.
If you would like to discuss anything related to ACP please contact us on 01590 670346.
Our Oakhaven team is here to help you by offering support and guidance on how to start the conversation about your future care with those close to you.
At Oakhaven, we aim to encourage and support everyone to talk openly about death and dying. This may be a painful topic, but having practical and honest conversations with each other now may reduce the worry that those close to us feel in the future.
For example, if you have always been responsible for the household’s finances and you should suddenly become ill or maybe die, this lack of information could cause further distress to your loved ones.
Everyone, not just those who are ill, should consider planning ahead and take the time to sit down with a pen and paper or at the computer and compile a list of important information. This could include bank account details, gas and electricity providers, mortgage or rent details and where passports are kept; these details could make a real difference to the people closest to you.
If I don’t have an Advance Care Plan, will my family be able to make decisions about my care and treatment?
Your Advance Care Plan is a not a legal document but it does offer the opportunity to nominate someone that you would like to be included in discussions if ‘best interests decisions’ need to be made.
You may not realise but those closest to you have no legal right to request or refuse treatment or care on your behalf; only a legally-appointed Lasting Power of Attorney for health and wellbeing can do this. Should you wish to appoint a Power of Attorney you will need to complete the necessary forms with the help of a solicitor, either for health and welfare matters or for property and financial matters. You must have capacity and the process can often take up to 12 weeks. For more information or to contact the Office of the Public Guardian on 0300 456 0300.
