Table of Contents
What is it?
- A legally binding document outlining what medical treatment a patient would not want in the future, if they lacked capacity.
What makes it legally binding?
- Signed
- Witnessed
- It is not felt to have been signed under duress
- There is no doubt about the patient’s state of mind at time of signing
Role of relatives
- Relatives have no legal rights to rescind or modify a valid advance decision
Limitations
- The patient cannot specify which treatments they would want, only those they would not want
