94% of the population want to decide on their own final medical care.
A survey commissioned to mark the launch the UK Living Will Registry, where doctors and families can view incapacitated patients’ wishes, has found that:
- 94% of people want the right to decide how they are medically treated.
- 49% have not heard of a Living Will.
- 63% of those who know about Living Wills would consider creating one.
- Only 3% of people have a Living Will, meaning many are leaving critical end of life decisions to others.
- 56% want to write a Living Will, in order to relieve their family of making decisions on their behalf.
- 47% would rather make a decision in advance about their medical care, rather than leave it to a doctor.
- 71% would ignore or not ask their family’s wishes as to end of life care.
- 89 % said that they were not embarrassed by the subject of death and would discuss their end of life issues with their family and friends.
- 90% said they would prefer to die anywhere but in a hospital.
Living Wills, otherwise known as Advance Decisions, are legally binding documents written by a person who has mental capacity in order to instruct doctors on how they wish to be treated in the event of them becoming terminally ill and incapacitated.
Until now there has been no national registry where these wills can be read by doctors, solicitors or family members in the event of the patient losing mental capacity.
Founder David Todd said: "There is an overwhelming demand for people to decide how they wish to be treated if they become unable to communicate.
"We have established the Registry — the first in the UK- to be a safe depository to communicate how one wishes to be cared for if you become incapacitated mentally through an accident, stroke or debilitating disease.
"There is little use in having a Living Will if it can’t be found when it is needed or if nobody knows it exists. This is why we have taken the initiative to establish a UK Living Will Registry.
"We have found that there is a deep desire to control the quality of their life in its final stages but before now no easy and cheap way to create a Living Will or let others know what’s in it at all times of day or night.
"Let’s face facts, none of us know when we might become incapacitated through an accident or bad luck. Yet, short of tattooing “Do Not Resuscitate” on our chest or always carrying a copy of our Living Will with us, until now there was no way of communicating our wishes to others."
It is FREE to create an online Living Will with the UK Living Will Registry, with lifelong registration costing less than £30. All those who enrol their Living Will are issued with a registry card to go in their wallet or purse, as well as stickers to put in prominent spots with all the details needed to access their wishes.
For more information, contact Angus Sharp on 01424 839203 or Neil Mackwood on 07900 554702.
