Advance care planning: the who, what, when, where and why

Advance care planning is an opportunity for patients to express their priorities for future care. NHS England has outlined a commitment to end-of-life care, advocating a shift towards more patient-centred care. The NHS is encouraging the workforce to engage patients in conversations about what is important to them, shifting the focus from 'what is wrong with you' to 'what matters to you'. Traditionally, this was seen as the doctor's role but this conversation can and should happen with the wider skilled medical workforce. The key to advance care planning is to have these conversations early on when patients have the capacity to discuss their preferences for care. Advance care planning can occur in any setting where the patient is comfortable to have the conversation, be that at home, in the GP surgery, in hospital or another setting. Patients with advance care plans are more likely to have their wishes respected, have fewer unwanted interventions, experience reduced transitions between care settings and are more likely to die in their preferred place of death. Healthcare professionals have a duty to offer advance care planning to patients nearing the last phase of life so that care can be delivered to honour individual needs at the end of life.