Last Days of Life Individualised Care Plan

All care and support needs to be centred on the needs, wishes and priorities of the individual receiving the service.

Everyone approaching the end of life needs to have a holistic needs assessment and the opportunity to express and record their wishes, choices and preferences about their care in a care plan.

We always strive to involve our patients’ loved ones/family in any decisions about care and treatment.

We aim to offer compassionate care, and comfort to all. Offering information about what may happen and opening a conversation to discuss the next steps. If it recognised that at patient is reaching the last days of life and individualised plan of care will be commenced.

Sometimes our patients do not have any information with them to tell us what their wishes and preferences are. 

Some patients may be unconscious or unable to talk to us when they arrive, and they cannot tell us about themselves. 

They may not always have family/those important to them present. This means it is very difficult for us to know how to provide more personalised care to the person when they come to us in Hospital. 

At Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, our priority is to ensure our patients are supported to make decisions about their care and their priorities, we aim to respect their individual wishes.  

Information that would be helpful to have knowledge about includes:

• What care and support does the person want?
• What treatment does the person want and not want?
• If needed, would the person want to be treated in Critical Care, possibly on a ventilator?
• The person’s preferred place of care and preferred place of death.
• Whether the person follows a particular faith, belief, or religious practice.
• Whether the person wishes to be resuscitated or not, in an emergency/life-threatening situation.