How do you plan?
Tō tātou reo advance care planning does require careful consideration but should not be complicated. It involves thinking about, talking about and documenting a personal plan.
Tō tātou reo advance care planning starts with a conversation.
Tō tātou reo advance care planning in 5 steps
Tō tātou reo advance care planning can be approached a step at a time.
The important first steps are thinking and talking about advance care planning. After that, it is helpful to write the key points down in a plan so you can share your wishes with others.
The value of tō tātou reo advance care planning is in the conversations and the shared understanding that is developed, and in the regular review of your plans.
Click on the steps below for more information.
Thinking about
What do you need to think about?
- What is important to you and gives your life meaning?
- Are there any treatments or types of care that you would or wouldn't want?
- Who would you want to make decisions on your behalf if you weren't able to?
- If there was a choice, how and where would you like to spend your last days?
Talking about
Who do you need to talk to about it?
Once you have thought through some of the issues, it’s a good idea to talk about them. Then others will know what is important to you and what you would like to happen, especially if you’re not able to speak for yourself.
Who would it be good to share your thoughts with?
- Family/whānau?
- Friends and loved ones?
- Doctors, specialists and health care team?
- Enduring Power of Attorney?
Planning for
What do you need to write down?
When you know what's important to you, and what you want others to be clear about, it's a good idea to write it down. Then they can refer to it when you can't speak for yourself.
Having it in writing can save families/whānau (and health care teams) a lot of worry and concern when they are required to plan on your behalf.
Sharing
Who will you give it to?
Once you have written down what is important to you and what you want to happen, make sure you give a copy to:
- key family members/whānau
- your GP
- all members of your health care team
- your Enduring Power of Attorney (if you have one).
Reviewing
When will you review it?
It’s great to have your plan written down and to have shared that with key people.
It’s also a good idea to review it regularly to make sure nothing has changed for you.
People find it useful to decide on a day to review it every year, like their birthday, Labour Day or at the time they do their tax return. When would be a good time for you to review it each year?
Your GP, Nurse Practitioner or Practice Nurse can support you to get started. If you are seeing a specialist at the Hospital or have been referred to Hospice or an Aged Residential Care facility, they can help too and answer any of your questions. Any registered health professional should be able to support you have an tō tātou reo advance care planning conversation.
If you wish to use this service or require further information, please contact the Education Team at [email protected] or [email protected].
Links to ACP planning guides
The Te Tāhū Hauora - Health Quality and Safety Commission is proud to launch Whenua ki te whenua – an advance care planning guide for whānau. The guide was co-designed with a Māori advisory group and is a resource for all Aotearoa New Zealand.
It is a document designed to help New Zealanders think and talk through their advance care plans. It encourages people to look at what is important to people, their values and beliefs and consider practical decisions should they become unwell or unable to speak for themselves. It also provides resources and examples of others people’s approaches to advance care planning. For more information on the creation process of Whenua ki te whenua Click Here
Download Whenua ki te whenua (English) (568 KB, pdf)
Download Whenua ki te whenua (Te reo Māori) (561 KB, pdf)
Find more information about the publication on the HQSC site
Online advance care plan
The Te Tāhū Hauora - Health Quality and Safety Commission Advance Care Plan and Guide Booklet will help you think about and write down what matters most to you.
Click here to print an Advance Care Plan & Guide Booklet PDF.
This is an alternate summary document that you may prefer to use and can be attached to your medical health record at the hospital. - Click Here
Advance care planning – He Waka Kakarauri
He Waka Kakarauri is a model for engaging Māori in Advance Care Planning (ACP) conversations. This model has been developed following earlier work by the former Northern Regional Māori ACP Tool Task Team, and more recently as an outcome from co-design hui held with consumers and healthcare workers in Northland.
The guide, Rarangi Tohutohu o te Waka Kakarauri, has been developed to assist Māori patients, whānau and healthcare workers to engage in these conversations in a way that is culturally appropriate and mindful of the sensitive nature of this topic.