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Advance Care Planning

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Advance Care Planning


Te whakamahere tiaki i mua i te wā taumaha
Tēnā koe and welcome to Advance Care Planning for Waikato!


Advance Care Planning is a National programme led by the New Zealand Health Quality and Safety Commission.

Hospice Waikato delivers the Advance Care Planning service contract for the Waikato region.

Local support for Waikato region

We have ACP Community Champions who are able to visit you and your family/whānau in your home, FREE OF CHARGE, to support ACP conversations.

If you wish to explore this service or would like more local information or even have a guest speaker visit your community group to talk about Advance Care Planning, please contact:

Mary Robertson, Clinical Nurse Specialist/ACP Lead 
Email: acp@hospicewaikato.org.nz
Phone: 07 859 1260

What is Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a voluntary process that encourages you to think about, talk about, and document your wishes about the type of health care you would want or not want to receive in the future. This can also include end of life discussions.

ACP gives your whānau and everyone who matters to you a chance to hear what’s important to you, especially if you were unable to speak for yourself.

An Advance Care Plan is a document where you can record your preferences and wishes for future healthcare and treatments. It should be the result of your thoughts and discussions with your family and whānau and anyone else who is important in your life.

You can commence documenting your Advance Care Plan anytime, however you will need the assistance of a healthcare professional to complete your treatment and care decision choices. A healthcare professional is medically trained and registered to practice in their role. You can access healthcare services through your local GP Practice (includes GP, Practice Nurse and Nurse Practitioner), Community Nursing services (District Nurses including Hospice), Hospital clinics etc.

If you choose to visit your GP Practice, please notify them that you require an appointment for an Advance Care Planning consult. There may be a standard charge for this depending on the practice.


It is important to have your advance care plan (ACPlan) uploaded into your electronic health record at both the Hospital and with your GP.

Having your ACPlan document attached to your hospital health record means it can be viewed by the health professionals involved in your care. This is very important if you are seriously injured or unwell and cannot speak for yourself.

You can choose to complete either the Waikato “Summary of my Advance Care Plan document [PDF, 552 KB]” or the “National summarized ACPlan document” 

Note: The ACPlan guided booklet is only for you and your family/whānau – this document is not uploaded.    

In Waikato, there are several ways your ACPlan can be attached to your hospital medical health record.

  • GP practices can upload ACPlans to your Hospital record
  • Outpatient Hospital Clinics can upload ACPlans to your Hospital record
  • Aged Care Facilities can upload ACPlans to your Hospital record
  • Hospice Waikato can upload ACPlans to your Hospital record

It is very important to keep a copy for yourself and discuss with your loved ones / people who matter to you and your EPOA, where they can access your ACPlan if needed in an emergency.

 

  • I want you to be prepared if you had to make decisions on my behalf.  
  • I want to make sure you understand and could honour my wishes.  
  • I want to talk with you about what is important to me.
  • I would like you to go with me to medical appointments.
  • I think it’s really important that all of the family understand my wishes.
  • I want to be prepared if I have to make decisions on your behalf.
  • I want to make sure I understand and could honour your wishes.
  • I want to hear about what is important to you.
  • I would like to go to medical appointments with you so I understand what is going on with your health.
  • I think it’s really important we all talk together about this, all of the family and your friends.
  • What treatments may be offered to me, based on my health, in one, two or five years time?
  • Which of my health conditions are easily treatable?  Which are not?
  • How might the proposed treatments improve or worsen my daily life as I know it now?
  • Will the proposed treatments require time in hospital?  Or can I get those at home?

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