Care Alert Kit
Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is make sure the right information is easy to find.
A Care Alert Kit is a simple way of keeping important healthcare documents together in one place. It is designed so that the people who may need to see those documents can find them easily — whether that is family, a carer, a substitute decision-maker, a paramedic, a doctor or another health professional.
It is a Queensland Health resource, and it is not just for people who are dying. Anyone can use one.
Why would I need one?
Imagine being taken to hospital unexpectedly.
You may not be able to explain your wishes. Your family may not know where your documents are. A paramedic or doctor may need information about your healthcare decisions, but nobody can find the paperwork.
The Care Alert Kit is intended to make that information easier to find.
Queensland Health recommends taking the kit with you, or making sure it is accessible, when you are admitted to hospital, attending a GP or clinical appointment, or being attended to in an emergency.
What goes in it?
The kits are supplied empty.
That is deliberate. Health services and health professionals can decide what information or resources are appropriate to provide with the kit, and you can keep the healthcare documents that are important to you together inside it.
The kit comes with an insert card and two optional magnets. The magnets allow the wallet to be kept somewhere easy to find, such as on the fridge door.
The idea is simple: put the important information somewhere people know to look.
Where should I keep it?
Somewhere obvious and accessible.
The Care Alert Kit can be particularly useful at home, where it can be found quickly by family, carers or emergency services. As mentioned above, the magnets can be used to keep it on the fridge door.
It can also travel with you to hospital appointments, GP visits, residential aged care or other health appointments.
Who is it for?
Queensland Health specifically notes that it is not limited to people living with a life-limiting condition. It can be useful for anyone who has important healthcare information they want others to be able to find.
Anyone can use a Care Alert Kit.
It may be particularly helpful as part of an end of life plan or an advance care planning conversation, when you are thinking about what matters to you and what information other people may need if you cannot speak for yourself.
It isn’t about predicting when you will die
There can be something uncomfortable about anything labelled “end of life”.
But having your important healthcare information together does not mean you think you are about to die.
It is simply a practical thing to do.
We all hope that the emergency never happens. But if it does, having the right information in the right place can make things easier for everyone.
A little preparation can save a lot of searching when things are difficult.
A simple idea
The Care Alert Kit is not complicated, and it isn’t intended to replace conversations with your family, doctor or other people involved in your care.
And when your circumstances or wishes change, make sure the information inside it changes too.
Sometimes good end of life care starts well before the end of life.