INTRODUCTION
A Living Will is a document that can be prepared so that you can state in advance what wishes you would like to express about medical treatment if at some stage for some reason such as serious illness you are unable to communicate those wishes yourself.ADVANCE DIRECTIVES
Living Wills are sometimes known as “Advance Directives” or “Advance Refusals”. They are all names for the same type of document.TREATMENTS
There are some treatments available that offer patients with serious or terminal illnesses the chance to live longer. These include chemotherapy, being fed through a tube or being kept alive on a life support machine. Some people feel strongly that they would not want to receive these or other similar types of treatment. However they may not be in a position to communicate those wishes because of physical or mental disabilities such as being in a deep coma or suffering from senile dementia.DECISIONS
In a Living Will you can usually make five types of decisions. You can: -- Wish to be kept alive for as long as reasonably possible using whatever form of medical treatment is available.
- Do not wish to be kept alive by medical treatment and wish medical treatment to be limited to keeping you comfortable and free from pain.
- Express any wishes about any specific medical treatment or investigations that you may require in the future.
- Appoint a Health Care Proxy.
- Express a wish for a particular person to be contacted or given a chance to be with you before you die.
AREAS
You can make the above decisions in relation to three main areas:-a. A physical illness from which there is no likelihood of recovery and is so serious that your life is nearing its end.
b. A permanent mental impairment that is so severe that you do not understand what is happening to you.
c. Permanent unconsciousness with no likelihood of gaining consciousness.
