What does a Living Will cover?
Through advance statements, patients have a legal right to decline specific treatment, including life-prolonging treatment. Patients cannot use advance statements to insist on the provision of certain treatments but they may authorise or refuse treatments. Who is responsible for preparing an Advance Directive? Drafting an advance statement is the patient’s responsibility. If necessary seek advice from your general practitioner or health professional. It is the patient’s responsibility to ensure that the existence of an advance statement is known to those who may be asked to comply with its provisions. What if I can’t express my wishes myself? No person has a legal right to accept or decline treatment on behalf of another adult. However, the BMA recognises that the nomination of a health care proxy by the patient may be another helpful development in communicating the patient’s views when the individual is no longer capable of expressing these. Do doctors have to do what I say? Doctors
