My Life My Wishes - Byw Nawr (Dying Matters) week 13-19th May 2019

A new Advance Care Planning process is being launched across Powys as part of Byw Nawr Dying Matters Week to give people the chance to explore and express their wishes for their future care.

The theme for this year’s Byw Nawr/ Dying Matters campaign (13 to 19 May 2019) is ‘Are We Ready’, and looks at the practical and emotional steps we all need to take to be ready for the end of our lives. Opinion polls show that only about a third of people have written a will or thought about their funeral, and even fewer have thought about their end of life care, or made a decision about organ donation.

To address this, Powys Teaching Health Board are using Byw Nawr week to launch ‘My Life My Wishes’, a document designed to give people the chance to explore and express their wishes for their future care.   People that engage with Advance Care Planning (ACP) often achieve better quality of life and are more likely to die in a place of their choosing.  Planning ahead can also make life much easier for grieving loved ones.

 The ‘My Life My Wishes’ document is designed to be easy to complete and accessible for everyone, regardless of your age or state of health.  Fifty ‘Advance Care Planning Champions’ from across Powys, from within Powys Teaching Health Board and from care homes, nursing homes, CREDU Carer supporters and others have been trained up to offer assistance with the process.  Events are being held across Powys during Byw Nawr/Dying matters week to launch the document which will be available from ACP champions, and also through the website.

Rhiannon Jones, Director of Nursing for Powys Teaching Health board will officially launch the document from 10-12 on Monday 13^th May 2019 at the MRC in Llandrindod Wells. 

Rhiannon says: “I am thrilled that Powys Teaching Health Board is launching ‘My Life My Wishes’ to help all of us have these important conversations.   Advance Care Planning has been shown to improve outcomes for patients and their families.  This document will help our staff provide person centred care across all the communities of Powys.”

Kim Bailey, from Forden near Welshpool, completed the document during its testing phase. She says: “I found completing My Life, My Wishes, really useful, because it is hard to approach certain subjects and it was really straightforward and easy to use.  The document helped to put everything in place, and helped me to talk to my family. The document is now there for anyone that needs it.”

Staff Nurse Emily Blizard from Graham Davies Ward in Llanidloes Hospital says: “I know from my own experience how helpful it is for families when your loved one is clear about what their wishes are.  At a time of great uncertainty and stress it is empowering for families to know you are supporting them to achieve their wishes.   As a staff nurse I think this document will make a big difference to many families’ lives by avoiding some distress at the end of life.”

Community Nurse Tamsyn Cowden from Builth Wells District Nurses says: “I think My Life My Wishes will make a positive impact on my patients by helping us to have honest conversations sooner.  We all need to be thinking about and talking about our wishes for our future care, so that we are not always making decisions in a crisis. To deliver person-centred, compassionate care, we need to understand what is most important to our patients, and ‘My Life My Wishes’ will help us to do that.”

Faith Gupta, Manager of Morgannwg House in Brecon, says: “I really support the introduction of ‘My Life, My Wishes.’ This document will be a great help to my residents and their families.  We have helped to test this document and the response from staff and families has been really positive.”

Community Palliative Care Nurse Charity Garnett based in Newtown who has been part of designing the document says: “Developing ‘My Life My Wishes’ in partnership with the community and health care professionals from across Powys and Wales has been a wonderful opportunity. I hope that this document will empower many people to have these important conversations, both with their loved ones and with health care professionals.  Facing the end of our lives is rarely easy, but we hope this document will help to make us more open about our wishes and concerns, which will make it easier to support each other.”