Plan Ahead Week 2024

Derry City and Strabane District Council, in partnership with Compassionate Community NI, are encouraging people to think what is important to them and to plan their future as part of this year’s Plan Ahead Week.

The dedicated week, which runs from 11th-15th March, will see a series of events and workshops planned for across the Council area. The week-long programme will cover key areas including advanced care planning, personal, legal, clinical, and financial planning.

Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Cllr Patricia Logue, said she was delighted to help launch Plan Ahead Week and encouraged everyone to get involved.

“This week is an opportunity for everyone to think about what is important to them and plan for their future, and also helps a person make known their wishes, feelings, beliefs, and values to those around them. There are a number of ways in which we can plan for future care, by looking at personal, financial, clinical, and legal wishes. It is important to review these plans as things change and most important to let those closes to you know of your plans.”

Alongside the launch, there will be an information session on planning for residential care, a financial well-being event and also a series of advanced care planning workshops help in communities throughout the Derry, Strabane and Newtownstewart areas. These events are planned to raise awareness of and encourage the importance of considering your options and wishes across different areas of your life.

In October 2022, the Department for Health launched a regional Advanced Care Policy with four key components including personal, legal, financial, and clinical. Each of these components reflect different aspects of Advance Care Planning and encourage individuals to Plan Ahead.

• Personal, is individual to each person, it’s what matters most to you, that is your beliefs, values and wishes and important relationships.
• Financial, can include matters relating to your home, your wider estate, perhaps your business, your livelihood and it might also include payment for healthcare needs or your funeral.
• Legal area – such as a will, an Advance decision to refuse treatment which sets out specific circumstances in which you would not want certain treatments or would want a particular treatment to be stopped.
• Clinical aspects – planning for Emergency Decisions which includes decisions about resuscitation, ventilation, or Organ Donation.

Advance Care Planning is something that you do throughout your life, because as you change, your plans may change, which can bring a different set of wishes and aspirations. Planning happens through you talking with people important to you, and people who give you care, support or treatment; about what you want and why. You can come back to your plans at any time and make changes.  Critically important is to start to have the conversation with those closest to you.

We all need to plan for our future needs, including care and the other main key components, which means that if we can’t communicate for ourselves it is recorded or shared with those who can speak and act on our behalf.

Ultimately the real benefits with Planning Ahead and Advance Care Planning is when you have the chance to talk about what matters to you it can help you make good choices now for your future. These choices will be in line with your wishes, feelings, beliefs, and values.

Plan Ahead Week 2024 has been funded by the Public Health Agency through the Age Friendly Programme, in partnership with Compassionate Communities NI and compliments the Department of Health’s regional Advance Care Planning Policy, launched in October 2022.

Locally Compassionate Communities NI is committed to connecting communities through compassionate action and changing attitude and behaviour towards life, age, death and bereavement and offers a range of programmes Our Programmes – Compassionate Communities NI including workshops on Advanced Care Planning Advance CARE PLANNING – Compassionate Communities NI

For further information please contact Compassionate Communities NI on  028 71 351010 or email [email protected] or visit the Department of Health webpage for further information Advance Care Planning: For Now and For the Future | Department of Health (health-ni.gov.uk)