Due to aging population and an increasing number of patients with terminal illness, palliative and end-of-life care becomes prominent in recent years. To respect patient self-determination and improve their quality of life, the government will implement the legislative proposals of advance directives and dying in place in this year. Now the Legislative Council is discussing the “Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Bill” and its related ordinance amendments with an expectation to provide a better and more option of the end of life care.
To equip the sector to understand “Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Bill” and its impacts on palliative and end of life care service development, the Council will release “Newsletter on Palliative and End-of-Life Care Service” in the coming months. The newsletter will discuss the related issues from different perspectives. The first issue is “An Overview of the Advance Decision on Life-sustaining Treatment Bill” (only Chinese version), which summarizes key points and Q&A regarding this legislation.