Planning for your care

Information you may find useful when thinking about and planning for your care

It is important to be prepared in case you or a loved one contracts COVID-19 and becomes seriously ill. This is especially important if you or someone close to you is in a higher risk group (people with serious underlying medical conditions and older people). During a pandemic, medical decisions might need to be taken very quickly. Having thought about different situations which may arise is better for you, your loved ones and helps the medical professionals looking after you to provide the care you want.

Here are some important questions to think about:

• If you were to become seriously unwell due to an infection such as the coronavirus, how would you like to be cared for?
• Is there anyone that you would like to be involved in future decisions about your care if you were to become unwell (e.g. a friend, family member or carer)?
• If you became seriously ill and thought you might die, where would you want to be cared for?
• Would you want to be admitted to hospital where more aggressive treatments are sometimes appropriate (e.g. being put on a ventilator)? Or would you prefer to be cared for at home cared for by those you are living with and community and hospice nurses with GP support?
• If your heart stops beating and there was a chance that it could be restarted with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), would you want a medical team to try this? This is maybe something you have never thought about – you can find out more about why it is important here.

Some specific treatments and interventions will not work for people who have complex underlying health problems, or when people are very frail or sick. It is important that you discuss with a health professional what treatments might be available and how they can help you.

There may also be some interventions and care options which you are not aware of, but which could greatly improve your quality of life (e.g. palliative care). Speak to a health professional to learn what might be available for you.

• Your doctor may talk to you about the ReSPECT process to help you think about your treatment and care you can find more information about that here
• The My Wishes app and website may also help: https://www.mywishes.co.uk/how-it-works

Wills

• If you are thinking about writing your will, this helpful blog here talks about how to do this in light of the Coronavirus.
• You can find Government guidance on making a will here.