Skip to main content RSS Info Close Search Facebook Twitter
Location
Category
Providers / Vacancies
Feedback

New health report to recommend advanced care directives

Ageing Australians would get a say in how and where they die under a huge health reform blueprint being considered by the Federal Government.

Ben Packham, writing in the Melbourne Herald Sun, says the move, aimed at avoiding futile hospital treatment, could slash $250 million a year in unnecessary health costs.

The National Health and Hospitals Reform Commission has urged Health Minister, Nicola Roxon, to establish a national system to respect the wishes of elderly people, including their right to decline treatment and die where they live.

Its yet-to-be-published report calls for every aged care resident to be asked to sign an “advance care plan” setting out their instructions. It is understood the commission wants the system to be built into the aged care accreditation process, to ensure nursing homes comply.

People would be allowed to die where they want – such as in their own bed – while receiving good palliative care. Advance care plans already have status under common law, but they are infrequently used and often ignored.

In the absence of a nationally co-ordinated system, nursing homes and doctors usually phone an ambulance to ensure they can’t be blamed for an impending death.

Share this article

Read next

Subscribe

Subscribe to our Talking Aged Care newsletter to get our latest articles, delivered straight to your inbox
  1. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  2. Who says your age should limit your dreams?
  3. Data from a recently released report highlights a concerning...
  4. With an ageing and growing population, data from the...
  5. Approximately 411,000 Australians are estimated to be living...
  6. How could you benefit from attending university as an older...

Recent articles

  1. Valentine’s Day may have come and gone, but after six or...
  2. What is a lesser known impact of hearing loss for older...
  3. Are there options for older Australians to live in the same...
  4. The new initiative brings older Aussies together to see the...
  5. A collaboration between Dementia Australia and VistaPrint...
  6. How can you look after yourself during the expected heatwaves...
  7. How is an interactive app being used in aged care settings to...
  8. How could the upcoming strengthening of super standards save...
  9. Brother Thomas Oliver Pickett, a Western Australian volunteer,...
  10. Why is an illegal website targeting older Australians?
  11. Eighty years after getting married, this couple lives together...
  12. How does heart health impact your risk of dementia?
  1. {{ result.posted_at | timeago }}

Sorry, no results were found
Perhaps you misspelled your search query, or need to try using broader search terms.
Please type a topic to search
Some frequently searched topics are "dementia", "elderly" etc
Close