On Thursday 11th April, two of our staff team were part of a day-long campaign to raise awareness of Advance Decisions. Working in partnership with Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Leeds City Council, the Plan Ahead campaign took place in three different venues across Leeds.
On the day, Chief Executive Philip Bramson was at stalls in Leeds Bus Station and Kirkgate Market alongside partners. Irene Crawshaw, Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy (IMCA) Manager, was at a stall in the White Rose Centre.
What are Advance Decisions?
An Advance Decision is known as a living will. An advance decision to refuse treatment lets your healthcare team know about your wishes if you aren’t able to communicate them. This is something you can do for later on in life for when you need end of life care.
In it, you can list all the treatments you refuse to have. It helps to protect your rights and have a voice when receiving end of life care. Compassion In Dying have some forms on their website where you can write a living will here: https://compassionindying.org.uk/choose-a-way-to-make-an-advance-decision-living-will/.
Spreading the word
As well as talking to people about advance decisions, we also spoke about how they tie in with advocacy. In writing a living will, you are able to have a voice when receiving treatment, even if you are unable to speak for yourself at that point.
Thanks to Leeds Community Healthcare NHS Trust and Leeds City Council for asking us to take part. Thanks also go to everyone we spoke to for wanting to find out more about advance decisions.
