Service Evaluation of an Advance Care Plan Tool

Following the successful bid for a Department of Health grant in October 2010, the Kent and Medway Children and Young People’s (KMCYP) Palliative Care Network ran a six month project to raise the awareness of children’s palliative care. One of the key outcomes of the project was to agree a standard Advance Care Plan (ACP) tool to be used across the network. Advance care planning involves the process of discussing life-sustaining treatments and establishing long-term care goals with families. It requires effective communication to clarify the goals of care and to enable families to agree care at the end of life, including resuscitation decisions (Henry and Seymour 2008). This work was based on that undertaken by the South Central Strategic Health Authority. With their approval the tool was adapted for local use.