Humanists welcome Living Wills
& call on Trust to take action

South Devon's Humanists welcome the introduction of the Mental Capacity Act on October 1st and call on Devon's Primary Care Trust to make Living Wills a real option for local people.

"This is a great step forward for patient choice as the Metal Capacity Act allows you to state what treatment you consent to as well as what treatment you want to refuse", said a spokesperson.

"We may have seen a loved one subjected to treatment they would not have wanted and many of us we want to retain control of what happens at the end of our lives. This choice can now be ensured by the drafting of a Living Will which acts to explain what treatment you want to receive if you lose mental capacity or become unable to communicate – for example, if you were in a persistent vegetative state or if you developed Alzheimer's. Your decisions now have full statutory force and must be respected by your medical team and we welcome this great advance in patient choice".

However, Devon Primary Care Trust recently told Devon Humanists that it had "no policy" on Living Wills. Accordingly, Humanists are concerned that the NHS is not yet responding to the Act's requirements: "We now call on the Trust to make people aware of their rights and set up systems to ensure those rights are delivered".