Advance Care Planning: For Now and For the Future

Topics:

Health policy

The Advance Care Planning Programme Team has engaged widely during the development of the Advance Care Planning policy document.

Public Advance Care Planning Level 1 eLearning

Alternatively you can access via the LearnHSCNI website.

On 19 October 2022, Professor Sir Michael McBride launched the Advance Care Planning: For Now and For the Future policy document for all adults in Northern Ireland.

These engagements have been conducted based upon principles of inclusiveness and accessibility. A wide range of sectors, organisations and individuals have been involved, including carers and interested members of the public. Between December 2020 and September 2021, there was two phases of early engagements with stakeholders to inform and shape the development of the policy.

The draft Advance Care Planning policy document and a full Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) were launched for Phase 3 engagement - a 12-week public consultation process - on 17 December 2021.

To ensure as wide a participation as possible, the consultation documents were available in 10 languages, as well as other formats i.e. audio, braille, large print, British Sign Language and Irish Sign Language.

What is Advance Care Planning

Advance Care Planning is an umbrella term covering personal, legal, clinical, and financial planning.

It enables a person to think about what is important to them and plan for their future. It is a voluntary process and helps a person to make known what their wishes, feelings, beliefs and values are, and to make choices that reflect these.

Advance Care Planning is an on-going process of conversations between a person, those important to them and those providing care, support or treatment. Advance Care Planning should be an important part of life for all adults.

Advance Care Planning is for everyone

Advance Care Planning is important for all adults, at whatever stage of life. Although Advance Care Planning has traditionally been associated with end of life care, it goes beyond this. As well as supporting decisions in declining health and unexpected emergencies, the opportunity it provides to reflect and consider what is important to the person can enhance their quality of life. It may also provide comfort and reassurance to those important to the person.

The Advance Care Planning policy document will provide a framework for Advance Care Planning for all adults in Northern Ireland. The policy document provides an overview of Advance Care Planning, and the values and principles that underpin it. It explains why Advance Care Planning is important and how it can help people make timely, realistic and practical plans for their future. It will enable a person to think about what matters to them now and for the future, and to make choices that reflect this.

Advance Care Planning Policy Document Implementation

The Advance Care Planning Programme Team have also developed an Implementation Plan to support the policy document.

This is focused on four implementation pillars:

Public messaging;
Operational frameworks;
Training and education; and
Evaluations and outcomes.

1. Public Messaging

Facilitated by the Patient and Client Council, a public messaging group of volunteer partners was established with a remit to help develop messages for the public that would focus on what Advance Care Planning is and why it is important for all adults.

The Advance Care Planning Programme Team also worked with communications professionals as well as behavioural scientists and service design from the Department of Finance Innovation Lab. This focused on taking forward public messaging to increase public understanding and confidence about what Advance Care Planning is, its benefits and how to do it.

The work on public messaging has included the development of animations and videos to explain:

‘What is Advance Care Planning’ animation.
Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) animation.

In addition, the Advance Care Planning Programme Team worked with the Association for Real Change (ARC) TILII group to support accessible consultation arrangements for people with a learning disability.

Advance Care Planning Seeds Grants

Fifteen Advance Care Planning Seed Grants have been awarded to support creative projects in the community which encourage people to start conversations about Advance Care Planning. These Seed Grants have helped encourage people to start conversations about their future wishes now.

Videos about the Seeds Grants and how they are supporting local organisations and communities to promote Advance Care Planning have been developed as part of the public messaging material.

2. Operational Frameworks

The implementation of the Advance Care Planning Policy will be supported by three Operational Frameworks that will set out detailed operational arrangements, including those to support the introduction and implementation of the ReSPECT process.

There will be 3 Operational Frameworks:

Advance Care Planning – Clinical Component *ReSPECT Operational Framework
Public Operational Framework – ‘How to Guide’
Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT)

3. Training and Education

A Capabilities Framework has been developed and endorsed by professional regulators and education commissioners and providers. This will support and underpin training and education to ensure that those providing care, support and treatment have the knowledge and self-efficacy to have Advance Care Planning conversations and to record these appropriately.

An Advance Care Planning Level 1 eLearning package has also been developed and is now available for those working within the Health and Social Care system, the wider public and the voluntary and community sector.

To begin Advance Care Planning eLearning level 1, please click on the link below:

Advance Care Planning level 1 eLearning module

Disclaimer:

Please note that this ACP Level 1 eLearning programme is currently under review and will be updated in due course to reflect recent changes in recording processes, including the introduction of encompass in Northern Ireland. While the core principles of Advance Care Planning remain relevant, some content may not fully align with current electronic documentation systems. We appreciate your understanding and encourage you to refer to your local guidance for the most up-to-date practices.

4. Evaluation and Outcomes

Consideration is also underway with regard to evaluating the Advance Care Planning policy document and its implementation that will help measure progress towards achieving the policy’s ambition.

Advance Care Planning Survey

Overview

We would welcome your participation in this survey. This is one part of the evaluation for the Advance Care Planning Programme of work.

This anonymous survey asks people to rate their knowledge and confidence before and after any engagement on Advance Care Planning. For example completing a training course, being part of an information sessions, accessing information online, being a volunteer partner or as a seed grant recipient.

This will help us to measure any change in people's knowledge and confidence in Advance Care Planning. We may publish our findings.

This survey should take no longer than 5 minutes to complete and all responses will be anonymous.

The Advance Care Planning Evaluation Survey survey is available to complete on NI Direct - Citizen Space.

The policy document for Advance Care Planning: For Now and For The Future which is available in different languages and formats can be accessed here.

Video Links

Advance Care Planning learning disability videos produced by TILII

Introduction https://vimeo.com/776585091/ee04be3f69
Personal https://vimeo.com/776584110/532d5589ad
Legal https://vimeo.com/776585577/582dc453d4
Financial - https://vimeo.com/790773076/e07651b2bd
Clinical - https://vimeo.com/790771509/a6cfdebcd3

British and Irish Sign Language Videos

ISL - https://vimeo.com/mashmob/repectisl
https://vimeo.com/mashmob/whatisacpisl
BSL - https://vimeo.com/mashmob/repectbsl
https://vimeo.com/mashmob/whatisacpbsl

Seed Grant videos

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