Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

GPs play an important role in caring for patients at the end of their life. To facilitate patient autonomy, care providers are encouraged to give patients the opportunity to discuss their priorities and preferences for future care in anticipation of a loss of capacity. This process is called advance care planning. This is an area of increasing interest and importance, made even more pertinent by the enactment of the Mental Capacity Act 2005; however, it can be confusing and daunting to health professionals. This article aims to summarise the key aspects of advance care planning.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Abel, J., Pring, A., Rich, A., Malik, T., & Verne, J. (2013).The impact of advance care planning on place of death: A hospice retrospective cohort study. BMJ Supportive & Palliative Care, 3, 168–173. doi: 10.1136/bmjspcare-2012-000327.

Clinical Network North East. (2012). Deciding right: An integrated approach to making care decisions in advance with children, young people and adults. Retrieved from www.cnne.org.uk/end-of-life-care—the-clinical-network/decidingright.

Dening

K. H.

Jones

Sampson

E. L.

(2013) Preferences for end-of-life care: A nominal group study of people with dementia and their family carers. Palliative Medicine 27: 409–417. doi: 10.1177/0269216312464094.

Department of Health. (2008). End of life care strategy: Promoting high quality care for all adults at the end of life. Retrieved from www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/136431/End_of_life_strategy.pdf.

Detering

K. M.

Hancock

A. D.

Reade

M. C.

Silvester

(2010) The impact of advance care planning on end of life care in elderly patients: Randomised controlled trial. British Medical Journal 340: c1345doi: 10.1136/bmj.c1345.

Faull, C., de Caestecker, S., Nicholson, A., & Black, F. (2012). Handbook of palliative care. Chichester, UK: John Wiley and Sons..

General Medical Council. (2010). Treatment and care towards end of life. Retrieved from www.gmc-uk.org/static/documents/content/End_of_life_9_May_2013.pdf.

Gold Standards Framework. (2012). Advance care planning. Retrieved from www.goldstandardsframework.org.uk/advance-care-planning.

Iwami

Nichol

Hiraide

Hyashi

Nishiuchi

Kajino

Kawamura

(2009) Continuous improvements in “chain of survival” increased survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrests: A large-scale population-based study. Circulation 119: 728–734. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.108.802058.

10.

Mental Capacity Act. (2005). Section 9: Lasting powers of attorney. Retrieved from www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/part/1/crossheading/lasting-powers-of-attorney.

11.

Mental Capacity Act. (2005). Section 25: Validity and applicability of advance decisions. Retrieved from www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2005/9/section/25.

12.

Morrison

R. S.

Meier

D. E.

(2004) High rates of advance care planning in New York City's elderly population. Archives of Internal Medicine 164: 2421–2426. doi: 10.1001/archinte.164.22.2421.

13.

NHS End of Life Care Programme. (2011). Capacity, care planning and advance care planning in life limiting illness. Retrieved from www.ncpc.org.uk/freedownloads.

14.

Office for National Statistics. (2013). National bereavement survey (VOICES) 2012. Retrieved from www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_317495.pdf.

15.

O'Malley

A. J.

Caudry

D. J.

Gabrowski

D. C.

(2011) Predictors of nursing home residents' time to hospitalization. Health Services Research 46: 82–104. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6773.2010.01170.x.

16.

Poppe

Burleigh

Banerjee

(2013) Qualitative evaluation of advanced care planning in early dementia (ACP-ED). PLoS One 8: e60412doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0060412.

17.

Public Health England, National End of Life Care Intelligence Network. (2013). What we know now 2013. Retrieved from www.endoflifecare-intelligence.org.uk/resources/publications/what_we_know_now_2013.

18.

RCGP. (2010). Clinical example 3.09: End of life care. Retrieved from www.rcgp.org.uk/GP-training-and-exams/∼/media/Files/GP-training-and-exams/Curriculum-2012/RCGP-Curriculum-3-09-End-Of-Life-Care.ashx.

19.

Royal College of Physicians. (2009). Concise guidance to good practice. Number 12: Advance care planning. Retrieved from www.rcplondon.ac.uk/resources/concise-guidelines-advance-care-planning.

20.

Sahm

Will

Hommel

(2005a) What are cancer patients’ preferences about treatment at the end of life, and who should start talking about it? A comparison with healthy people and medical staff. Supportive Care in Cancer 13: 206–214. doi: 10.1007/s00520-004-0725-z.

21.

Sahm

Will

Hommel

(2005b) Attitudes towards and barriers to writing advance directives amongst cancer patients, healthy controls, and medical staff. Journal of Medical Ethics 3: 437–440. doi: 10.1136/jme.2004.009605.

22.

Schiff

Rajikumar

Bulpitt

(2000) Views of elderly people on living wills: Interview study. British Medical Journal 320: 1640–1641. doi: 10.1136/bmj.320.7250.1640.

23.

Thomas

Lobo

(2011) Advance care planning in end of life care, Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

24.

Wiese

C. H.

Bartels

U. E.

Zausig

Y. A.

Pfirstinger

Graf

B. M.

Hanekop

G. G.

(2010) Prehospital emergency treatment of palliative care patients with cardiac arrest: A retrospective investigation. Supportive Care in Cancer 18: 1287–1292. doi: 10.1007/s00520-009-0746-8.

25.

Wright

A. A.

Zhang

Ray

Mack

J. W.

Trice

Balboni

Prigerson

H. G.

(2008) Associations between end-of-life discussions, patient mental health, medical care near death, and caregiver bereavement adjustment. The Journal of the American Medical Association 300: 1665–1673. doi: 10.1001/jama.300.14.1665.