Advance care planning information from our listening and learning event

Advice and Information - 6 December 2022

We invited Compassion in Dying to talk about the work they do to support people to plan ahead, so that their end-of-life care decisions are heard, understood and respected when it matters most.
two people sitting on a bench talking

Watch the video here

We recorded this event so that you can watch it in your own time.

Transcript available below.

The presenter is Sarah Malik, Clinical Lead and Services Manager, RN, Compassion in Dying and winner of the Royal College of Nursing Patient Choice Award 2022

The aim of this presentation is to: 

  • show you how valuable the advance care planning process can be
  • give you more confidence when supporting people to plan ahead for their end of life
  • explain people’s rights to plan for their end of life in line with the Mental Capacity Act 2005
  • inform you of the tools people can use to communicate their wishes

To see the person centred tools people can use to make their wishes known please download the links below.

If you would like to talk to someone about these please contact Compassion in Dying 

Downloads

Presentation slides
Download (PDF 595 KB)
Presentation transcript
Download (PDF 163 KB)
Starting the conversation
Download (PDF 12.63 MB)
What now? Questions to ask after a terminal diagnosis
Download (PDF 9.62 MB)
Planning Ahead
Download (PDF 2.35 MB)
Advance Decision Pack
Download (PDF 501 KB)

Learn about the work being done to make Coventry and Warwickshire a Compassionate Community

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Cover of 'Compassion in Dying' Report

Rethinking the UK’s approach to dying

Compassion in Dying are calling for collaboration from government, health and voluntary and community organisations to:

Introduce an advance care planning conversation guarantee, initially through the NHS health check

Deliver a public health campaign on advance care planning

Create more opportunities for people to record what matters to them at the end of their lives

Introduce a duty of openness and transparency in end-of-life conversations to enable properly informed consent around treatment decisions

Develop mandatory training for healthcare professionals on end-of-life decision making under mental capacity legislation

Develop mandatory training for healthcare professionals to recognise when a person is approaching the end of their life and to support a transition to comfort care
"The report itself demonstrates the need for more opportunities for people to consider the decisions they might face towards the end of their lives and more support for the healthcare system to feel confident respecting those wishes. We are acutely aware that a great many people struggle to access the treatments they need. However, people at the end of their lives often tell us a different story – one of unwanted treatments, ambulance rides they wanted to avoid, and hospitalisations they said they did not want.

It shows how too many people experience inappropriate treatment at the end of life and opportunities to understand their priorities and respect their decisions are sometimes missed. It echoes themes from Chris Whitty’s CMO report, which recently called for a similar cultural shift in healthcare away from maximising lifespan and towards improving quality of life in old age. As he put it, the key question being “what do people want themselves?”

We have strived to strike the right balance between reflecting people’s experiences honestly and doing so in a way that is constructive, positive and helpful. Fundamentally though, if it matters to people then it matters to us, so we felt the steady increase in calls we receive from people who feel their loved one is being treated contrary to their stated wishes is too important not to give a platform to."

Sarah Malik,
Clinical Lead and Services Manager, RN, Compassion in Dying
Report
An elderly man wearing a hat smiling at the camera

Thinking about end of life care for you and your family

End of life care is support for people who are in the last months or years of their life. The guidance on the NHS website helps you know what to expect, how to plan ahead and how to manage your day to day decisions.
Advice and Information