Description
Contents include; Section 1: The legal framework for decision making; Section 2: Your approach to making decisions; Section 3: Advance care planning; Section 4: Writing an advance care plan; Useful websites; CD-rom.
Kim Shamash recently retired from clinical practice after more than 35 years training and working as a doctor in the NHS. During her time as a consultant psychiatrist she had extensive experience of working with older people going through a range of mental health problems including dementia. Always working in multidisciplinary teams, she saw people and their families in their own homes, in care homes and in hospital. She found that many older people have complex combinations of mental and physical health problems, which make decision making confusing and difficult, especially if they are in hospital. In recent years Kim has become passionate about enabling patients to make better informed choices about their care and to feel more in control of their decision making. Her personal experiences and that of family and friends are what prompted her to think about writing a guide for a younger group of people who are reflecting on how their own wishes can be expressed as a result of seeing older relatives going through the health care system.