Advance Care Planning lets you tell your family and doctors what care you would want if you could no longer speak for yourself. Punggol residents who are healthy, aged 21 and above and have Singpass can make one free online with myACP. Anyone with a serious illness should book a trained ACP facilitator instead.
It is not an easy conversation to start. It is also one of the kindest things you can do for the people who will one day have to decide for you.
This page is part of eduKate Punggol’s When You Need Help in Punggol, our practical guides for life’s occasions, big and small. It covers Advance Care Planning in practice: how to start the conversation at home, how to choose your healthcare spokesperson, the two ways to make and register your plan, where to find a facilitator near Punggol, and when to review it.
Quick answer
- Healthy, 21 or older, with Singpass: use myACP online at for.sg/myacp-website. It is free, and you do not need to meet a facilitator.
- Living with a serious illness, or want guidance: book a trained ACP facilitator. Search AIC’s ACP Directory (for.sg/acpdirectory) with your Punggol postal code. The nearest hospital team is at Sengkang General Hospital, 6930 2583.
- Your spokesperson: choose up to two Nominated Healthcare Spokespersons, each at least 21. On myACP, your plan is registered once they all accept with Singpass.
- What it is: guidance for your doctors and family, not a legally binding document. The Lasting Power of Attorney and Advance Medical Directive are separate.
- When to review: at each new decade of life, after a major diagnosis, or when your daily functioning changes.
- If it brings up heavy feelings: SOS on 1767 or CareText 9151 1767 (WhatsApp), and the National Mindline on 1771, all 24 hours.
How to Start Advance Care Planning
The Agency for Integrated Care (AIC) sets out four stages: reflect, choose a spokesperson, document your plan, and review it. Here is how that looks for a Punggol family, one step at a time.
- Think it through on your own first. AIC suggests reflecting on the quality of life you want and the treatments you would be comfortable with. Its free ACP Workbook, linked from the AIC page, helps you explore this. AIC notes that writing your wishes down is not required.
- Pick your route. If you are healthy and comfortable online, myACP is the simplest. If you have a serious illness, or would like someone to guide you, a trained facilitator is the right choice.
- Ask your spokesperson before you name them. Your Nominated Healthcare Spokesperson speaks for you on healthcare when you cannot. They will receive an SMS invitation and must accept through My Legacy with Singpass, so make sure they know it is coming.
- Have the family conversation. Choose a calm time, not a hospital corridor. Share what matters most to you, and let your spokesperson ask questions. If you use a facilitator, Sengkang General Hospital notes that loved ones are usually brought into the sessions.
- Document your plan. On myACP, you record your preferences yourself, including whether you would prioritise comfort care or life-sustaining treatment. With a facilitator, each session may last 30 minutes to an hour and a half, and more than one may be needed.
- Let it register. On myACP, your ACP is registered automatically once all your spokespersons have accepted. A facilitated ACP is registered once the facilitator discussions are complete. Either way, it goes to the National Electronic Health Records (NEHR), so healthcare workers can see it.
- Tell the people who were not in the room. Let siblings and close family know who your spokesperson is. It avoids surprises at a hard moment.
Where to Get Help Near Punggol
We did not find an ACP facilitator based in Punggol itself. The ACP Directory’s postal-code search shows the providers nearest to your home, and the services below can be reached from Punggol.
| Who | Contact | Hours | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| myACP online service | for.sg/myacp-website, through MyLegacy@LifeSG with Singpass | Online | Healthy adults 21 and above with no serious illness and no existing Preferred Plan of Care or Disease-Specific ACP. Free. |
| AIC ACP Directory | for.sg/acpdirectory. Search by postal code, and filter “With serious conditions” if you need to. | Online | Finding a trained facilitator near Punggol. |
| Sengkang General Hospital ACP (Department of General Medicine) | Medical Centre, Level 9, 110 Sengkang East Way, Singapore 544886. Tel 6930 2583, advancecareplanning@skh.com.sg | Not stated; call or email first | The nearest hospital ACP team to Punggol. |
| SingHealth Polyclinics ACP | Any SingHealth Polyclinics appointment counter, or the call centre on 6643 6969 | Not stated | Registered SingHealth Polyclinics patients. Medical social workers act as facilitators. |
| Free community ACP providers | Fei Yue Community Services, SATA CommHealth, Society of Sheng Hong Welfare Services, Montfort Care, Home Nursing Foundation, Sunlove Abode and Lions Befrienders Service Association, through the ACP Directory | Varies by provider | Free help for people without a serious illness. |
| AIC and the ACP National Office | AIC 1800-650-6060, enquiries@aic.sg. ACP National Office 6603 6800, acp@aic.sg | Not stated | General questions about ACP. |
| SOS and National Mindline | SOS 1767; CareText 9151 1767 (WhatsApp); National Mindline 1771 | 24 hours | Someone to talk to if planning stirs up difficult feelings. |
Checked October 2026 — confirm on the official page before you go: AIC’s Doing Your ACP, AIC’s facilitator page and Sengkang General Hospital’s ACP contacts.
The SingHealth Polyclinics page does not say which individual polyclinics run ACP sessions, so if you are registered at Punggol Polyclinic, ask at the counter or call 6643 6969.
Which Situation Fits You
You are healthy and want to plan ahead
This is what myACP was built for. MOH launched it on 19 July 2025 so that healthy people could make their plans online for free, without meeting a facilitator. You need Singpass, you must be 21 or older, and you should not already have a Preferred Plan of Care or a Disease-Specific ACP. If you would still like face-to-face help, the free community providers in the table can sit with you.
You or your parent has a serious illness
Use a trained facilitator. AIC lists cancer, chronic neurological diseases, end-stage lung disease, dementia, end-stage kidney failure, heart failure and severe liver disease among the illnesses that call for one. The facilitator may be a doctor, nurse or social worker. The free community providers are not trained for serious illness, so filter the ACP Directory for “With serious conditions”.
Your parent can no longer decide for themselves
Sengkang General Hospital says that if a patient has already lost mental capacity, ACP sessions can be held with their loved ones. Ask the doctor caring for your parent. Questions about who can make legal decisions belong to the Lasting Power of Attorney and deputyship, which our LPA, ACP, wills and deputyship explainer covers.
You cannot think of a suitable spokesperson
Most people choose a family member or close friend, but anyone you trust can serve. AIC says that if you have no one suitable, you may appoint a Professional Deputy who is also your LPA donee, if they agree, or speak to an ACP facilitator to document and register your plan. Your spokesperson can be a different person from your LPA donee.
Your family does not agree
This is common, and it is exactly why the plan helps. Sengkang General Hospital says that if relatives disagree, the medical team has an ethical duty to honour the patient’s wishes unless there is reason to believe those wishes have changed. While you still have capacity, you will be asked for your own consent.
You already have an ACP
AIC says a newly published myACP replaces an earlier facilitated ACP. If yours is a Preferred Plan of Care or a Disease-Specific ACP, myACP is not open to you, so speak to a facilitator to update it.
Advance Care Planning Costs and Rules
- myACP: free of charge, according to MOH.
- Facilitated ACP: AIC says some providers may charge a nominal fee, so ask before you book. The seven community providers named above can help for free, but not for people with serious illnesses.
- Spokespersons: up to two, each at least 21. AIC says both should know your wishes well and agree on your preferences.
- Legal status: AIC says ACP forms guide decision-making and are not legally binding or enforceable. If you want legal arrangements, the Lasting Power of Attorney and the Advance Medical Directive are separate documents.
- Who can see it: healthcare workers, through the National Electronic Health Records, once your spokespersons accept.
- You are in good company: MOH says more than 77,000 ACPs had been completed as of 11 July 2025.
Neighbour’s Tips for the Conversation
- Start with something that already happened. A relative’s hospital stay or a story in the news is a gentler opening than “we need to talk about dying”.
- Fill in the workbook first. AIC’s free ACP Workbook gives you words for things that are hard to say out loud.
- Choose two people who agree with each other. If you name two spokespersons, AIC wants both to know and share your preferences.
- Bring your spokesperson along. Hearing the facilitator’s questions together means they understand your answers, not just your form.
- Expect more than one sitting. Facilitated sessions can run up to an hour and a half each, and more than one may be needed.
- Set a review reminder. AIC suggests reviewing at each new decade of life. Tell your spokesperson whenever you change it.
- Watch for scam calls. AIC and Sengkang General Hospital both warn that their staff will never ask you to transfer money or share bank log-in details over the phone. The ScamShield Helpline is 1799.
If It’s Urgent
Advance Care Planning is for planning ahead. It is not an emergency instruction. If someone is seriously unwell or collapses, call 995 straight away.
Talking about the end of life can bring up grief, fear or old family hurts. If it becomes too much, call SOS on 1767 or message CareText on 9151 1767, at any hour. The National Mindline on 1771 is also open 24 hours.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Advance Care Planning the same as an LPA?
No. Your ACP records your healthcare wishes and guides decisions, but it is not legally binding. The Lasting Power of Attorney is a separate legal document. Our explainer sets out how they differ.
Is myACP really free?
Yes. MOH describes it as free of charge for healthy individuals making their plans online.
Who can be my healthcare spokesperson?
Anyone you trust who is at least 21. AIC suggests someone who will respect your wishes rather than their own, can make decisions under stress, listens well and is easy to reach in an emergency.
When is my plan officially registered?
For myACP, once every spokesperson you named has accepted the invitation with Singpass. A facilitated ACP is registered once the facilitator discussions are complete.
Can I change my mind later?
Yes, as long as you have mental capacity. Start a new ACP on myACP or with a provider, and tell your spokespersons so they have the current version.
Does Punggol Polyclinic do ACP?
SingHealth Polyclinics offers ACP to its registered patients, but its page does not list individual polyclinics. Ask at any SingHealth Polyclinics appointment counter or call 6643 6969.
More Help on eduKate Punggol
- Lasting Power of Attorney, Advance Care Planning, wills and deputyship: what each document does.
- Home palliative care in Punggol: caring for a loved one at the end of life.
- Polyclinics, GPs, hospitals and emergency care
- Singpass, LifeSG and ServiceSG: help with the online steps.
- Caregiver grants and training for Punggol families
- Official: AIC: Doing your ACP · AIC: questions about ACP · MOH on Advance Care Planning
A Kind Conversation to Have Early
You do not have to finish it in one evening. Start with a cup of tea and one honest question, and let the rest follow. The people you love will be grateful that, when the time comes, they know what you would have wanted.
Planning ahead is one way of caring for your family; everyday support is another. And if your family is also looking for calm, small-group English, Mathematics or Science, eduKate Punggol teaches classes of three in Punggol. Come find out more: Book a consultation · Chat on WhatsApp
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By appointment · +65 8823 1234
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Checked October 2026. Addresses, opening hours, fees and rules change, so please confirm with the official source before you go.
