Advanced Health Directives and Enduring Powers of Guardianship are 2 types of documents
available in Western Australia that may be completed as part of the advance care planning process.
Advance care planning involves talking about your values, beliefs and preferences for future health and personal care with your loved ones and those involved in your care.
What is the difference between and Advanced Health Directive and an Enduring power of Guardianship?
ADVANCED HEALTH DIRECTIVE(AHD) Used to record your decisions about future medical treatment that you would or wouldn’t want. Only comes into effect if don’t have capacity to make decisions for yourself.A doctor must act in accordance with your AHD. AHD has priority over your guardian’s decisions.Must have capacity to sign.Speak to your doctor. Call Healthy WA or Public Advocate.
ENDURING POWER OF GUARDIANSHIP (EPG) Appoints a person/people to make decisions about treatment, personal and lifestyle matters when you’ve lost capacity. What powers does a guardian have? Decide where you liveWho you live with.Medical decisions.Who you associate with.What services you receive.A guardian cannot make financial decisions.
Hierarchy of treatment decision-makers:
Where an AHD does not exist or does not cover the treatment decision required, the health professional must obtain a decision for non-urgent medical treatment from the first person in the hierarchy who is 18 years of age or older, has full legal capacity and is willing and available to make a decision.
Advanced Health Directive
Enduring Guardian with authority
Guardian with authority
Spouse or Defacto partner
Adult son or daughter
Parent
Sibling
Primary unpaid caregiver
Other person with close personal relationship
If urgent treatment is required to save your life or prevent unnecessary pain, health professionals can provide this treatment without seeking consent. However, they will need to seek consent for ongoing treatment.
Sadly we have lost a much-admired member of our Probus Club with the recent passing of life member Peter Wesley. Peter’s Australian mother ran away with a Yankee sailor, and Peter was born in California the year before Pearl Harbour. After his primary schooling in New York, his family moved to Sydney in 1950, where Peter became an Aussie. He attended Manly High School, then became a jackaroo on a sheep and cattle stud near Narrabri, NSW. He married Ann in 1962 and they shortly moved to the west. Peter joined Wesfarmers in Wagin and was soon promoted to a number of senior roles.
His climb continued after Wesfarmers went public in 1984, with his close involvement in several major takeovers, including Elders, Federation Insurance and Dalgety’s.
In addition to his work, Peter sat on the board of the Institute of Management and chaired the WA ParaOlympics Committee for the Barcelona Games. Even in retirement at Eagle Bay, he took on the job of chief fire control officer and also coached T-ball teams.
Peter joined Probus Perth in 2008 and naturally was active from the start, both within our club and in PAWA, culminating in his becoming President, 2014–16. He played the key role in converting our club from men only to a mixed club and took a keen interest after the transition in nurturing new members.
Peter’s broad competence and friendly, humorous manner enabled him easily and quickly to get to know many people.
We have lost a fine and rightly popular Australian in Peter. Our deep condolences to Ann, his children Brian, Michelle and Rob and other family. He will be greatly missed.
The Probus Club of Perth Inc. 