Caring for people at the end of their lives is an important role for health and social care professionals. One of the elements to support people at the end of their lives is to find out what their preferences and wishes are in relation to their future care.
Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a voluntary process of discussion between an individual and their care providers irrespective of discipline. If the individual wishes, their family and friends may be included in the discussions. With the individual's agreement, this discussion should be recorded, regularly reviewed and communicated to key persons involved in their care.
An ACP discussion might include:
The aim of this guideline is to inform health and social care professionals on how best to manage advance care planning (ACP) in clinical practice.
It contains a number of recommendations, such as training for and implementation of ACP, when and with whom to consider having ACP discussions, the context and content of discussions, preparing ACP documents and cognitive impairment.
This concise guidance is primarily aimed at professionals in England and Wales and will be relevant to all doctors involved in ACP, especially geriatricians, psychiatrists, general practitioners, general physicians and acute medicine specialists.
(British Geriatrics Society, Royal College of Physicians, Royal College of Nursing, Royal College of Psychiatrists, Royal College of General Practitioners, British Society of Rehabilitation Medicine, Alzheimer's Society, Help the Aged and the National Council for Palliative Care, ISBN: 9781860163524, February 2009)
This letter from David Nicholson outlines the statutory responsibilities for PCTs, local authorities and SHAs in establishing delivery mechanisms and ensuring they have sufficient numbers of trained staff available.
(Department of Health, 5 March 2009)
Following NCPC's earlier publication "Guidance on the Mental Capacity Act 2005" in October 2005, this guidance is principally written for professionals and organisations in all settings that provide palliative care services, either within specialist services or as part of their day-to-day care. People working in specialist palliative care units, hospices, hospitals, care homes and community care will all find it relevant. However, it is also intended to help patients, care home residents, informal carers, family members and people who want to understand how they care influence their future care.
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(The National Council for Palliative Care, March 2008)
