Hospitals and verbal communication Hospitals are a place where verbal communication goes to die. This is unfortunately a common truth – our modern health care system is incredible and helps many people every day, but it is also a place where people’s wishes can be missed in and people can become caught in the system. You…
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Particularly towards the end of life, it’s important for people to have control over how they live their life. Most people want “a good death”. Perhaps a good death is really ‘a death of one’s own.” Everyone will do it differently. Everyone will have different wants and needs. For those people who have “a good…
A glossary of keywords you should know around Advance Care and end of life planning Acute pain Pain that results from something recent eg new injury or surgery Adjuvant medications Medications that are given for reasons other than solely pain relief. Advance care directive Advance care directives tell other people what the…
Both my parents died from smoking. My mother died from emphysema and my father from cancer. So I became a Quit Cigarettes in 60 minutes Specialist to prevent this happening to other people. Since then I’ve helped several hundred people quit smoking, and here’s what I’ve found to be the seven biggest benefits they have…
The purpose of Touchstone Life Care is to bring meaning and joy to individuals and their families facing death, by removing fear and providing tools for preparation, compassionate caring, and supported grieving. We bring real meaning to ageing and dying But at Touchstone Life Care, we know ageing and dying can also bring real meaning and…
Advance Care Document, Advance Care Plan, Advance Care Directive, Health Directive, Living Will. Many of these are different names for the same thing. But what does each mean? What is an Advance Care Plan? An Advance Care Plan is a general overall term that includes any form of planning in advance, including all the above…
What is digital health care? The phrase ‘digital health care’ can sound scary. Especially when we’ve lived an entire life of having all our health care done in person. After all, the aim of medicine ought to be human-centred. But put them together to make human-centred digital healthcare and the future’s looking bright. Everyone who…
We asked Rhonda, a tax accountant, to tell us the facts about the costs of aged care facilities in Australia. Rhonda’s mother has dementia and lives in a Residential Aged Care Facility, so these figures are real. Look out for these sorts of costs when you are inquiring about a Residential Aged Care Facility for…
An Advance Care Plan needs to be made when you are of sound mind. If someone has dementia then it is too late to complete an Advance Care Plan. They may say and do things that are not in alignment with their usual personality and that is one reason why an Advance Care Plan…
Advance Care Plans are not written by lawyers or doctors. They are written by ordinary people like you. So you do not need to use legal or medical jargon. However, doctors and other medical staff play an important role in putting your Advance Care Plan into practice. But how do they actually do this? Read…
