Advance care planning is the process of thinking about, talking about and planning for future health care and end of life care.
What matters most to you when you think about your health changing?
Advanced Care Planning (ACP) is a process of:
- thinking about your values and goals, and
- discussing your preferences for your current and future healthcare.
ACP helps you:
- understand what your future might hold, and
- to say to health care professionals what you would and would not want, including your end-of-life care.
In the ACP, you are encouraged to write down:
- what is important to you,
- what your concerns are, and
- what your care preferences.
By writing it down, it is easier for your whanau, loved ones and health professionals to know what matters to you – especially if you can no longer speak for yourself.
An ACP can also cover other information:
- who you want involved in discussions about your health,
- where your important documents are, and
- like what sort of funeral you would like.
When you have completed your ACP, we recommend you share it with your health care provider and anyone else you want to have access to it.
Unfortunately, Age Concern has had to close its Advance Care Planning service at the end of 2024, due to it being defunded. But you can still complete your plan on your own or ask a medical professional to help.
You can find out more about Advance Care Planning and get resources at https://www.myacp.org.nz/
Advance Care Planning – Client Feedback
“The subject is somewhat depressing – I don’t want to think about it – but you spoke so well, without hesitation, without duplication – with a gentle humour. I am now thinking about my plan.” ~ a man’s response after a presentation in Whitby
“Kay’s ever easy to talk to. It’s a hard topic, she made the conversation comfortable.” ~ ACP client
“We would like to thank you again for doing our advanced care plan. We enjoyed the experience and were very impressed with the way you did it. You made us feel at ease and happy to talk about what some people find a difficult subject to discuss.
Thank you again.” ~ ACP client
“Kay was fantastic, she was very engaging, very professional and helped me think about what I needed to say in the care plan. She kindly did the writing, as my writing is often indecipherable.” ~ ACP client
“It was really good to get this done, as I have been prevaricating for a very long time.” ~ ACP client
“I had procrastinated about this but I really felt in safe hands. Kay covered the topic with empathy and competence and I now have peace of mind.” ~ ACP client
Click here to listen to Kay talk about Advance Care Planning on the radio…
