Regulating doctors, ensuring good medical practice

End of life care: What to discuss

  1. 52. Patients whose death from their current condition is a foreseeable possibility are likely to want the opportunity (whether they are in a community or hospital setting) to decide what arrangements should be made to manage the final stages of their illness. This could include having access to palliative care, and attending to any personal and other matters that they consider important towards the end of their life.vii
  2. 53. If a patient in your care has a condition that will impair their capacity as it progresses, or is otherwise facing a situation in which loss or impairment of capacity is a foreseeable possibility, you should encourage them to think about what they might want for themselves should this happen, and to discuss their wishes and concerns with you and the healthcare team. Your discussions should cover:
  1. (a) the patient’s wishes, preferences or fears in relation to their future treatment and care
  2. (b) the feelings, beliefs or values that may be influencing the patient’s preferences and decisions
  3. (c) the family members, others close to the patient or any legal proxies that the patient would like to be involved in decisions about their care
  4. (d) interventions which may be considered or undertaken in an emergency, such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), when it may be helpful to make decisions in advance
  5. (e) the patient’s preferred place of care (and how this may affect the treatment options available)
  6. (f) the patient’s needs for religious, spiritual or other personal support.
  1. 54. Depending on the patient’s circumstances, it may also be appropriate to create opportunities for them to talk about what they want to happen after they die. Some patients will want to discuss their wishes in relation to the handling of their body, and their beliefs or values about organ or tissue donation.
  2. 55. You must approach all such discussions sensitively. If you are unsure how best to do this or how to respond to any non-clinical issues raised by the patient, you should refer to relevant guidelines on good practice in advance care planning.viii  If the patient agrees, you should involve in the discussions other members of the healthcare team, people who are close to the patient, or an independent advocate.

 

References

vii A number of reports have been published about the needs and preferences of particular patient groups in relation to end of life treatment and care. Examples include: Dying in older age: reflections and experiences from an older person’s perspective (2005) by Age UK; Ethnicity, Older People and Palliative Care (2006) by National Council for Palliative Care and the Policy Research Institute on Ageing and Ethnicity, London; An ordinary death: the service needs of people with learning disabilities who are dying (2003) by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities; Better care. Better lives. Improving outcomes for children and young people and their families living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions (2008) Department of Health, England.

viii Examples of national guidance on how to approach advance care planning include: Advance care planning: national guidelines (2009) Royal College of
Physicians of London; Advance care planning: a guide for health and social care staff (Aug 2008); Ascertaining wishes: a good practice guide. Advance care planning for care homes for older people is available from Counsel and Care. The BMA has published guidance covering this and other issues in end of life treatment and care in Withholding and withdrawing life-prolonging medical treatment: guidance for decision making (2007).

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