(Vancouver, B.C.) If you couldn’t speak for yourself in a medical emergency, who would know your wishes and could speak for you? This is the focus of this year’s National Advance Care Planning (ACP) Day campaign on April 16th.
Over three quarters of British Columbians agree that it’s important to talk about what matters most to them about their future health care, but less than half have talked with their family, and fewer still (14%) have had a conversation with a health care provider.
Advance Care Planning is a process of thinking about your values, beliefs, and wishes for future health and personal care, and sharing them with people you trust the most. It can include choosing who would make care decisions for you if you cannot. Advance Care Planning can help you get the care that’s right for you, even if you’re unable to speak for yourself.
Did you know that in circumstances when you can’t speak for yourself, BC law lists individuals that can make healthcare decisions on your behalf? It can put a health care provider in a very challenging situation to have to make decisions regarding treatment on behalf of an individual as well. Whether or not this person knows what you would want, they will still be asked to make important choices for you. With an ACP, you can name the person you trust to make decisions how you want your future health care to look (called your substitute decision maker).
For Advance Care Planning Day 2025, we are encouraging British Columbians to start thinking about their wishes for their future care. Consider who would speak for you if you couldn’t speak for yourself.
Don’t leave your healthcare decisions to chance. Start your conversations today!
The BC Centre for Palliative Care offers complete information about advance care planning – including substitute decision makers – as well as tools to create a plan and links to information from around the web. Many of the resources are available in English, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, and Hindi.
For more information on BC Centre for Palliative Care: www.bc-cpc.ca
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