Professor Colleen Cartwright is the Foundation Professor of Aged Services at Southern Cross University and Director of the Aged Services Learning and Research Collaboration (ASLaRC) established by Southern Cross University and the University of New South Wales. She has extensive research and teaching experience in areas which include ageing, ethics, advance care planning, patient self-determination and medical decisions at the end of life. She is author of the recently released reports commissioned by Alzheimer’s Australia, Planning for the End of Life for people with Dementia, Parts One and Two.
Advance Care Planning is a process which can provide comfort and certainty to patients/residents, their families and their health care providers (nurses, GPs and others). It assists people to record their wishes and to appoint someone to ensure that their wishes are respected.
However, many people are unclear about exactly what Advance Care Planning is, what the legal requirements are for implementing it, and who has the legal right to make decisions for someone who has not planned in advance. Confusion about what is or is not euthanasia complicates the process.
Download information sheet with links to her publications here
