My Life, My Wishes Advance Care Plan
My Life, My Wishes is a person held Advance Care Plan (ACP) document or statement of wishes, which guides adults with mental capacity, to record their future care wishes. Completing it is a voluntary process and they do not need to be unwell to complete. The ACP is not a legally binding document and can be changed at any time and can support future best interest decisions.
The document was developed by a working group within Powys Teaching Health Board’s Specialist Palliative Care Team, alongside engagement with key stakeholders, including within Powys Teaching Health Board, Powys County Council, Third Sector and the wider community. My Life, My Wishes was officially launched in Powys Teaching Health Board in 2019, with an updated second version released in 2021, and a third version in 2022.
There has been widespread uptake of My Life, My Wishes within Powys, including within the Health Board, County Council, Third Sector and local people. An important ethos behind My Life, My Wishes is that it is person-centred and inclusive, it is a person held document which is embedded easily into care, this has undoubtedly increased the uptake of the document. Due to the success of My Life, My Wishes within Powys, we are keen for the document to be available for use by other areas within health and care organisations. The document is available in Welsh.
For areas wishing to adopt the document we would ask that the core principles of the document are adhered to in order to maintain the integrity of the document. If you identify any areas that require changing or updating to align with your organisation we would strongly suggest the following steps are taken:
• Any changes should only be undertaken with the engagement of local service user networks
• Any suggestions for changes or general feedback on the use of the document are shared with Powys Teaching Health Board to enable an oversight of the use of the document and also review of changes which may benefit the document more widely
The team in Powys Teaching Health Board regularly review the My Life, My Wishes document and update to reflect any necessary changes, we would welcome feedback, please send it to - Powys.PalliativeCareTeam@wales.nhs.uk