Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment - End of Life Choices - may be distressing

[Kayleigh]

My understanding of the ADRT was that for it to be legally it has to be signed and witnessed. I think I also read somewhere about an ADRT being overridden in particular circumstances.

Hi Dina,

Concerning the requirement for witnesses, it says on page 4 of the ADRT form on the Mnda's website (link provided below) that one witness is sufficient but preferably there should be two (and as already mentioned by Ellie, they can't be people who stand to gain from your death).

http://https://dbsy278t81889.cloudfront.net/app/uploads/2015/04/19135922/my-adrt-blank-interactive-form.pdf

Further information about ADRT (including what information needs to be included on the form) can be found on pages 65 to 67 in Section 9 of the MNDA's 'End of Life Guide'.

Link to Section 9 (Advance Care Planning and Advance Decisions) of the MNDA'S 'End of Life Guide' provided below:-

(Warning: some people might find some of the information included in the 'End of Life Guide' upsetting)
http://https://dbsy278t81889.cloudfront.net/app/uploads/2017/05/19140014/eol09-advance-care-planning-and-advance-decisions.pdf

Love Kayleigh x

[Kayleigh]

Thanks Dina,

I think that I need to update my form and get more copies as mine is yellow.

Love Terry

Hi Terry and Dina,

I was interested to read in the MNDA's 'End of Life Guide' that a DNACPR (Do Not Attempt CPR) instruction is not legally binding, although it will be respected in most instances.

However, an ADRT is legally binding - and in England and Wales you can include a refusal of CPR in your ADRT.

Further information about the DNACPR is on page 68 in Section 9 of the Guide (I provided a link to Section 9 in my previous post).

Love Kayleigh x

[Gillette]

Hi Kayleigh,

Thank you for the additional information. My goodness, there is so much to read! I'd better not decide to die yet, otherwise I shan't have time to read everything about it!

[Kayleigh]

Hi Kayleigh,

Thank you for the additional information. My goodness, there is so much to read! I'd better not decide to die yet, otherwise I shan't have time to read everything about it!

Hi Dina,

I promise I won't be offended if you don't need/want to read it all! ... and Poldark is just about to start on BBC1 (watching Aidan Turner is far more entertaining than reading my waffley posts!)

Love Kayleigh x

[Gillette]

Hi Kayleigh,

Apologies for my poor attempt at humour, which clearly wasn't funny.

[Kayleigh]

Hi Dina,

No need to apologise - I knew you were only joking! (I just wanted to find a way of mentioning Aidan Turner! ) - oops.. I think I might have gone off topic a bit (and it's not like me to do that! LOL).

I do agree with you though - there is a lot to read up about and its all serious stuff - so its nice to have a break from it sometimes and perhaps watch some light entertainment on TV .

Love Kayleigh x

[Gillette]

Hi Dina,

(I just wanted to find a way of mentioning Aidan Turner! )

Love Kayleigh x

Is Aidan Turner the dark, moody one whose face is used to advertise Poldark?

[Ellie]

Hi Dina,

As an FYI, at the moment I've 2 sets of instructions - one for me as I am and one if I were to develop FTD, in which case I want to discontinue using NIV (BiPAP, Nippy), not to treat any infections and stop using my feeding tube.

The use of antibiotics too can be quite nuanced - for example, would I want to be treated if I were to get pneumonia next week? Yes I would. If that pneumonia reappeared 4 times over the next 2 months, would I want each time to be aggressively treated with antibiotics? No I probably wouldn't treat the 4th pneumonia. The "4" is an arbitary number for illustration only, but my point is, I get to say "enough is enough".

I'm a bit different (yeah, I know, you've all being saying it ) in that I'm in Palliative Care and get control over my care, so I have discussed my ongoing care and my death several times with my team. In practice, there's a dichotomy to my care, as I can choose to maintain life-sustaining interventions, which I have done and will hopefully do for as long as practicable (notwithstanding FTD involvement which, in all honesty, scares the pants off me...)

Love Ellie.

[Ellie]

PS. PLEASE no Poldark spoilers - I've the first 3 episodes recorded, haven't had a girls night in yet to watch them!!! The boys roll their eyes when forced to watch it

[Gillette]

Hi Ellie,

Thank you for your explanation. It reminded me of my sister's position. She had emphysema and had to go into hospital regularly to have her lungs scoured. She found it a distressing procedure and reached a point where she refused to have that treatment. She didn't want any life-prolonging treatments. She developed a chest infection which her GP began treating with antibiotics. I rang him to discuss the matter and he explained that the antibiotics would not prolong her life, they would simply make her more comfortable