Just one person in 25 in the State has an advanced care plan in the case they become incapacitated due to illness, according to a new report.
Safeguarding Ireland, which protects adults who may be vulnerable due to incapacity, found just 4 per cent of people have an advance healthcare directive and less than a quarter (23 per cent) understand what one is.
An advance healthcare directive is a document in which a person writes down their future healthcare decisions, including refusals and consents on treatment, surgery, medicines and resuscitation.
It only comes into effect if in the future a person then lacks capacity to make, or communicate, those decisions. This could be due to the progression of a frailty, dementia, a serious illness, a physical or intellectual disability, or a sudden accident.
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Safeguarding Ireland chairperson Patricia Rickard-Clarke said the uptake of such directives is very low in Ireland compared to other countries, and more awareness and action is needed.
“Making one is free of charge and not difficult to do. It is an important part of protecting rights and ensuring that our wishes will be respected if in the future we didn’t have decision-making capacity for healthcare decisions. It is also better for doctors and families,” she said.
“Safeguarding Ireland recommends that all adults, and particularly those using healthcare services, make an advance healthcare directive and share a copy with those who need to know about it.”
[ Law Society and Decision Support Service at odds over legal care documentsOpens in new window ]
On RTÉ's Morning Ireland programme, she explained that many people are aware of enduring powers of attorney, but they only cover the person’s finances and properties, the property affairs.
“But it does not include healthcare decisions. So it is really important that people understand the need to make an advance healthcare directive in order to articulate their preference with regard to their healthcare decisions,” she added.
A Red C research poll of more than 1,000 people found, for the 19 per cent of people who had heard of an advance healthcare directive but had not implemented one, the main reasons given were that 62 per cent had never really thought about it, 53 per cent of people have no current health problems and 42 per cent didn’t know to go about making one.
Ms Rickard-Clarke added that once a person has made a directive it is important that those who need to know about it do and the following should all be given a copy: the person’s designated healthcare representatives, family doctor (GP), current healthcare professionals a person is engaging with, the emergency department if admitted to hospital or the person in charge if living in a healthcare or residential facility.
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