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House of Assembly - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-07-01 Daily Xml
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Advance Care Directives

The Hon. S.W. KEY (Ashford) (15:01): My question is directed at the Minister for Health. Minister, since the implementation of the advance care directives, how can South Australians influence their future health and care choices?

The Hon. J.J. SNELLING (Playford—Minister for Health, Minister for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Minister for the Arts, Minister for Health Industries) (15:02): I thank the member for Ashford for her question and acknowledge her particular interest and advocacy for people who are in the terminal phase of an illness. The new advance care directive commences today and simplifies arrangements for future decision-making for healthcare living arrangements and personal matters, not just end-of-life decision-making. It replaces the existing enduring power of guardianship, medical power of attorney and anticipatory direction with a single advance care directive form and will enable people to record their wishes, values and instructions for future healthcare, residential, accommodation and personal matters, as well as appointing substitute decision-makers to make decisions on their behalf in case their decision-making capacity is impaired.

Enduring powers of guardianship, medical powers of attorney and anticipatory directions will still have legal effect as if they are an advance care directive under the act. There has been significant consultation and collaboration with consumers, consumer organisations, health practitioners (including doctors and nurses), aged care and disability care staff, justices of the peace and lawyers to ensure we meet the community's needs in this area.

There is a new advance care directive website with information for consumers, substitute decision-makers, witnesses and professionals who have an interest in advance care directives. Over time, it will also contain e-learning modules for both consumers and health practitioners to learn more about advance care directives. The new ACD form is now available on the website to download for free and soon it will be able to be completed online using the new online interactive form, which will also be smartphone compatible.

To help consumers complete the new advance care directive, a do-it-yourself kit has been produced. Both the advance care directives form and the do-it-yourself kit can be downloaded either together or separately for free from the advance care directives website. The kit can be purchased from Service SA for $5 and the form can be purchased separately for $1.

To raise community awareness about the importance of planning ahead for future health care, personal matters, financial matters, organ donation and wills, the inaugural annual Planning Ahead—Your Life, Your Choice, Your Voice Day will be held on 4 September.

Finally, can I take a moment to thank all the staff and volunteers who have been involved in putting the ACD together. A lot of consultation has taken place to make sure that this is a useful and meaningful document. I would like to thank Kathy Williams, Alicia Wrench-Doody and Sinead O'Brien from SA Health, as well as the members of my end of life advisory committee, chaired by former minister for health Martyn Evans.

I would also like to acknowledge in particular the great work the member for Taylor, the parliamentary secretary, has put into bringing this to fruition. This is a significant advance. You go around to other jurisdictions around the world and tell them what is happening here in South Australia, and they are always surprised about the significant advances we have been able to make in this particular area. We truly lead the world when it comes to reform of these areas.

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