An Advance Directive enables you to record your wishes about medical care and treatment in advance.

You can write down whether you want life-sustaining treatment or not. This involves getting the heart started when it has stopped, keeping you breathing by artificial means, feeding or giving you fluids through tubes put into your body. Should you then no longer be medically competent and unable to make your own decisions your wishes will have been recorded.

Give copies of this form to your doctor and to those close to you, keep one in your wallet and have the original in a safe place.

This is not the same as Voluntary Euthanasia, which is not legal in SA.

Palliative care lets you make your own decisions and prepare for how you die, as far as that is possible.

Get further information from:

Department of Health
Level 13, 11-29 Waymouth Street, Adelaide SA 5000 Freecall: 1800 188 098
Website: http://www.health.gov.au/

Or

The Palliative Care Council of SA
Tel. +61 8 8291 4137 or Fax +61 8 8291 4122
Website: http://www.pallcare.asn.au/ Email: pallcare@pallcare.asn.au