Who Will Speak For You In A Medical Emergency?

Presenter: Dying With Dignity Canada

Fewer than 10% of people have had a conversation with their doctor about their wishes. Almost half have never even talked with their family or loved ones about what they want with respect to their health care.

A Health Care Directive (HCD), as part of your Advance Health Care Plan (ACP), is a document that expresses your wishes for the type of health care you would want to receive (or not want to receive) and allows you to appoint someone to make health care decisions for you, if you are too ill to speak for yourself.

It’s an important document – and yet fewer than one in five Canadians have a written ACP. And those who do have only a very basic document that names a Substitute Decision-Maker (SDM) but contains imprecise (if any) instructions for care.

Having a clear, well-thought-out, effective Health Care Directive (HCD) will benefit not only yourself, but those closest to you who may be forced to make difficult decisions for you sometime in the future.

The ACP – Health Care Directive presentation discusses the consequences of not having one and explains how the guidelines in the ACP kit can help ensure that your wishes for future health care are known and followed.

Cost: free

Registration not required