Advance Care Planning

What is Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a series of voluntary conversation where you plan for your future healthcare decisions. It involves:

Discussing your personal values and beliefs
Expressing your priorities and healthcare preferences
Appointing a Nominated Healthcare Spokesperson (NHS) who will speak on your behalf
Having conversations with your loved ones and healthcare team

By expressing your wishes ahead of time, it can guide your loved ones and healthcare team to provide care and treatment that aligns to your values and preferences when you are unable to communicate.

Who is Advance Care Planning for?

ACP is for everyone, regardless of age or health condition.

While no one can predict the future, having an ACP allows you to:

Be prepared for unexpected situations
Have a say in your healthcare decisions, even when you cannot speak for yourself

Ready to begin? Here are some questions to guide your reflections!

Download ACP Workbook

Why is Advance Care Planning important?

For You

Ensures your healthcare wishes are known and respected if you're unable to communicate them
Improves your quality of care by documenting your preferences
Provides peace of mind that your care preferences will be honoured

For Your Family

Lessens decision-making burden on family members
Reduces anxiety and stress for families, providing clarity on decisions

For Your Healthcare Team

Allow clinicians to act in your best interests and provide care aligning to your values and preferences

Choosing a Nominated Healthcare Spokesperson (NHS)

Choosing someone who knows you well and is willing to communicate your wishes to your healthcare team is crucial. Your NHS should:

Talk with and listen to your wishes.
Be willing to act on your wishes.
Be able to make decisions under stressful situations.
Be willing to speak to the medical team about your values and treatment goals.

How to start your ACP journey

Our trained facilitators will guide you through the conversation and
documentation process.

Step 1...

Ask yourself what
matters most

Step 2...

Communicate your care and treatment preferences

Step 3...

Proceed to book
an ACP appointment

For healthy individuals, you may complete your own ACP online without having to speak to an ACP facilitator via myACP.

You can use the myACP online service if you:

Have a Singpass account
Are at least 21 years old
Do not have any existing serious illness
Do not have a Preferred Plan of Care (PPC) ACP or Disease Specific (DS) ACP

Once you’ve completed the online form, your NHS will be notified via SMS notification to acknowledge by logging in to My Legacy with their Singpass.

Find out more about myACP online service >

Enquiries & Contact

Contact Number
+65 6576 2152

Email
livingmatters@sgh.com.sg

Find out more about ACP >

FAQs

ACP is a process where you can discuss and document your preferences for future healthcare. When you become very sick and unable to communicate healthcare decisions in the future, the healthcare team will use this as a guide to respect and honor your wishes.

We recommend involving trusted individuals who understand your healthcare preferences and could speak on your behalf if necessary. This might be a family member, friend, or anyone you trust to ensure your wishes are respected if you're unable to communicate them yourself.

Yes, you can update your ACP anytime. Your preferences may change, and we encourage you to revisit them periodically or if your health situation changes.

You are also encouraged to share any changes with your loved ones and healthcare team whenever an updated version is documented so that they will be updated of your wishes.

Your Advance Care Plan (ACP) comes into effect when you no longer have mental capacity to make healthcare decisions. While you retain mental capacity, your doctors will continue to consult you directly about your care preferences.

Yes, an ACP is still beneficial. While an LPA Form 1 grants your donee legal decision-making rights, it doesn't specify your personal welfare preferences. An ACP communicates these preferences to your loved ones and potential donees.

Similarly, an AMD only covers preferences for life-sustaining treatment, whereas an ACP addresses broader healthcare decisions like pain management, care location, and end-of-life preferences.

An ACP complements both LPA and AMD by providing comprehensive guidance on your personal welfare and healthcare preferences