Further Information for Service Users and Families

Making a Will – What You Should Know

Future Health

Advance Healthcare Directives

Advance Healthcare Directives have been introduced into Irish law as part of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 (known as the 2015 Act).

A person with capacity known as a ‘Directive-Maker’ may make an Advance Healthcare Directive that will come into effect when s/he lacks the capacity to make healthcare treatment decisions for themselves. The purpose of an Advance Healthcare Directive is to provide health and social care professionals with important information about a person’s healthcare treatment choices and to enable a person to be treated according to his or her own ‘will and preferences’ even when he or she no longer has the capacity to make decisions. A person’s ‘will and preferences’ are their wishes, views, beliefs and values.

An Advance Healthcare Directives Multidisciplinary Working Group has been established under the Act by the Minister for Health Simon Harris, T.D to prepare draft codes of practice on the Advance Healthcare Directive provisions contained in the 2015 Act.

Three Draft Codes of Practice have been developed as follows:-

1. A Draft Code of Practice on Advance Healthcare Directives for Health and Social Care Professionals
2. A Draft Code of Practice  on how to make an Advance Healthcare Directive
3. A Draft Code of Practice for Designated Healthcare Representatives

We would like to hear your views and feedback on the three draft Codes. We welcome feedback from individuals and groups. As the Draft Codes of Practice are interlinked it would be very beneficial if you could give feedback on all three draft codes.

A short questionnaire has been developed to help you provide feedback. You can submit feedback on just one draft code, or on all three draft codes. Please click here for further details.

The closing date for feedback is Friday 4^th May 2018.

On completion of the consultation, a final version of the Draft Codes of Practice will be submitted to the Director of the Decision Support Service, Ms Áine Flynn for consideration. The Director of the Decision Support Service will, in consultation with the Mental Health Commission, the Minister for Justice and Equality and the Minister for Health, have the final decision on the content of the Draft Codes of Practice.

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