A presentation at the February Monthly Meeting by Sophie Thomas, the Matron/Registered 
Manager of Paul Satori.
Sophie talked initially about the Paul Sartori Foundation and its role in the community, before going on the describe the value of people developing an “Advanced Care Plan” as early as possible for their later years and their end of life care. She used the Hywel Dda Health Board Plan as an example, though in some respects she suggested it could be significantly improved. This is the link to the Hywel Dda Health Board page where electronic versions of the documents can be found: http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sitesplus/862/page/63464
Here is a link to another website full of ideas. It has an absolute plethora of excellent material on ACP, leaflets, stories, videos, posters and a lot more links: www.dyingmatters.org
Sophie also explained that they are a bit short-handed on the Clinical Management Team at the moment but hope to run more 3 day courses for anyone who is interested in knowing more. These are usually 3 x 10am-3pm sessions over about 6 weeks, with a follow up afternoon later on. There is no particular expectation of the participants, but they hope, at least they will spread the word in their own communities and groups.
Eventually she would like to have a group of volunteers, supported by a paid staff member, who will help people write ACPs, one to one, and also do talks. Something for U3A members to think about!
Sophie discussed both the considerable advantages but also occasional the pitfalls of writing and using Advanced Care Plans, stressing that one should keep ones plan constantly under review. There was a considerable amount of interest in the hall as exemplified by the question and answer session at the end.