Frequently asked questions

Take a look below for some of our frequently asked questions. If you can’t find what you are looking for, please contact us.

  • End of Life Doulas provide practical, emotional, and (if desired) spiritual support to those with a terminal diagnosis and those important to them. You can find out more at https://eol-doula.uk

  • End of Life Doulas are trained to support others to have conversations about death and dying and to explore their wishes and preferences. Speaking to an end of life doula can be a great starting point, whether you have a terminal diagnosis and want to explore support options or whether you are simply wanting to plan ahead for your peace of mind and/or for those who are important to you. Some End of Life Doulas provide support to people at any stage or age of life who would like help with exploring all things death and dying related.

    Sometimes people find it helpful to speak about their fears about death, and/or to be guided through considering what it is to be mortal in order to bring clarify and perspective to their life.

  • Absolutely, advance planning is about so much more than filling in a form – a conversation is the best way to work out what would be useful for you and your situation. Please see our book a doula service to arrange to speak to one of our team.

  • Some forms of advance planning documentation, such as Wills, Lasting Power of Attorney (LPAs) and Advance Decisions to Refuse Treatment are legally binding and others, such as Advance Statements and funeral plans aren’t. An End of Life Doula can talk you through the differences and help you to work out what form of documentation is right for you and your situation.

  • An Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT) is a written documentation of your wish to refuse certain medical treatments in specific circumstances. It allows you to let others know of any medical treatment you would not want should you become unable to make or communicate these wishes in the future. An ADRT is legally binding.

  • An Advance Statement is a written statement of your wishes, preferences, beliefs, values and priorities regarding your future care. Whilst it is not a legally binding document itself, it provides important context to legally binding decisions you have made (e.g., in an Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment) and lets those involved in your care know how you want to be cared for. Your Advance Statement may be read in an urgent situation, so it is a good idea to have a short version detailing your most important wishes, and you can also have a longer version to share with those caring for you for example if you have carers coming to support you in your home.

  • A Lasting Power of Attorney is a legal document which allows you to appoint someone, or multiple people, to make decisions on your behalf should you lose capacity to make or communicate these decisions yourself. There are two types of LPA – Health and Welfare, which gives another person(s) the power to make decisions including your medical care, where you are cared for, your daily routine and life-sustaining treatment; and Property and Finance, which gives another person(s) the power to make decisions including your bills, pension, any benefits payments, managing your bank accounts and selling your home. You can find out more about LPAs, and make one, on the Gov.UK website here

  • Yes, in fact we recommend that you do – it is normal for our wishes to change at different stages of our life and in response to new information, so it is important we review our decisions periodically. Even if there are no changes, it is a good idea to document that you have reviewed your documentation and haven’t made any changes – so that anyone reading this knows that it is an accurate and up-to-date record of your wishes.

  • Firstly, tell them – it may sound obvious, but we see many examples where people have documented their wishes but have not let those important to them and/or those involved in their care know. It is really important that people know you have documented your wishes so that they can follow these and can produce any documentation promptly in an urgent situation. If you don’t feel able to fully discuss your wishes with those important to you, you can write these down in an Advance Statement – but you should always let people know a) what documentation you have and b) where your documentation is kept so they can access it easily should they need to. Any advance planning documentation you make should be communicated with your GP surgery so that it can be noted on your medical record. Secondly, it is a good idea to make it clear where you keep your documentation (original copies of forms) in your house, should emergency services be called so that paramedics know your wishes before they provide medical treatment. One way of doing this is to use a ‘message in a bottle’ – this is a pot you keep your documentation in in your fridge (where paramedics will look for medication) and a sticker you put on your door to notify them that you have this in your fridge. You can find out more about the ‘message in a bottle’ service on the Lion’s Club website here

  • We aim to provide high quality, person-centred support at all times – if this is not your experience we want to hear from you so we can improve our service, please email contact@finguidedecide.co.uk

Get In Touch

If your questions aren’t answered in our FAQ page, please get in touch with us via the contact form below or by sending a message at contact@exploringendings.com
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