Most of us will have made a will to express our wishes about how our property and assets will be distributed and dealt with in the event of our death.

Did you know that you can also plan ahead for your healthcare, expressing your wishes and preferences about your future treatment and care, particularly what you would want to happen if you become unable to make or communicate a decision for yourself?   

We encourage people to have these thoughts and conversations as life is unpredictable, and none of us know when such a situation might arise for us. Talking about and recording your wishes in advance will mean that they are more likely to be known by others and followed if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.

You can do this at any time in your life.  

You may have already thought about the consequences of becoming seriously ill or disabled and what this might mean to mean to you, your partner or your relatives, particularly if you become unable to make decisions for yourself. This may have been at a time of ill health or as a result of a life changing event. It may simply be because you are the sort of person who likes to plan ahead. Equally, you may not have thought about it at all.

You may wish to record what your preferences and wishes for future care and treatment might be - this can be done by a process called Advance Care Planning.

You may at this point in time simply choose to do nothing at all. Advance Care Planning is a voluntary process, so you don’t have to take any steps to plan in advance unless you wish to do so.

If you would like to have an advance care planning discussion or fill in an advance care plan (single page document), please get in touch with your Doctor's secretary to make an appointment.

This is not a legally binding document and can be changed and updated at any time if your wishes and preferences change and you are still able to communicate these to us.

• Planning Your Future Care: a guide
• Planning ahead and making my treatment and care wishes known
• Making advance decisions to refuse treatment
• Dying well at home
• Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief Encouraging open discussions about death and planning ahead in Scotland
• End of Life Care guide NHS Choices
• Planning Ahead: My treatment and care (Compassion in Dying, 2018)

A free and simple website which will take you through some questions and scenarios to get you thinking about what is important to you.

At the end it will generate a legal document about your wishes for treatment and care for you to print, sign, witness and share.

It will only be used if you can’t make a decision yourself.

My Decisions Website - click here

• Dying Matters - Finding help locally 
• Winston's Wish Online resource for bereaved children
• Booklet for carers Supporting an adult patient who is nearing the end of life
• What to expect when someone important to you is dying A guide for carers, families and friends of dying people
• Talk CPR Online resources including the Talk CPR videos and website, co-designed by patients and carers in Wales
• What to expect when someone is dying - patient leaflet - see below