What is advance care planning?

Advance care planning (ACP) involves thinking and making choices now to guide your future health care. It is a process of communicating your wishes, values, beliefs and treatment preferences with your family, friends and healthcare providers.

If you have strong beliefs about what you want to happen in the future, it is particularly important to make your plans and wishes known now. You can do this by having a conversation with those close to you and writing down your preferences. This brochure (PDF, 957.85 KB) explains more.

Planning ahead can mean:

• discussing your health care and quality of life choices with those closest to you, and
• choosing and appointing your Enduring Power of Attorney(s), and/or
• completing an Advance Health Directive, and/or
• writing down your values, beliefs and health care preferences in a Statement of Choices.

Find out more information about advance care planning in Queensland.

Free advance care planning clinics

Consumers in the Metro South Health region can now take advantage of advance care planning clinics occurring at Community Health Centres from 1 September to 19 December, 2023.

The Metro South Health Advance Care Planning Service

What is the ACP Service

Metro South Health (MSH) provides a free ACP service at all MSH hospitals, staffed by experienced ACP facilitators to:

• educate and upskill health professionals regarding the importance of ACP 
• assist patients and families to undertake quality ACP
• increase awareness and uptake of ACP in the community. 

What can the ACP Service do?

• Provide ACP education, advice and support to upskill health professionals 
• Guide conversations with patients and families regarding future health care wishes, preferences and personal values
• Guide patients and families to fully complete ACP documents:
  • Enduring Power of Attorney | Advance Health Directive | Statement of Choices
• Assist patients and families to share completed ACP documents with the Statewide Office of Advance Care Planning (Queensland Health), GPs and other health professionals involved in patient care

• Provide information and education sessions (in person or virtual) to community groups about ACP to raise community levels of awareness.

 Contacts