Making an Anticipatory Care Plan

Planning for an expected change in your condition is called Anticipatory Care Planning.

Once you’ve had advance planning discussions, an Anticipatory Care Plan is the document you use to record the details of these discussions. With your consent, the Anticipatory Care Plan should be shared with all those involved in your care.

If you have been diagnosed with an illness that is likely to get worse, your healthcare team may think it would be helpful to make an Anticipatory Care Plan for you. If so, your healthcare team should work with you to make the Anticipatory Care Plan. If you are not asked about making an Anticipatory Care Plan but feel that this is something that is important to you, you can inform your healthcare team about your desire to make one.

Many NHS Boards will have a template they use to make an Anticipatory Care Plan, with headings, so you can fill in the answers. The headings are likely to include:

• Key people: write down the names of the people (including friends and family) who are involved in your care
• Emergency Contacts: write down who to contact if you are feeling unwell. You should ask your GP, Nurse or a member of staff to help you with this
• Notes: you, your family, or healthcare staff can write down important relevant information about your care
• Hospital admission dates: keep a record of each time you are admitted to hospital, and when you return home
• Thinking ahead: thinking about situations or problems that may occur in the future, write about your wishes for your future care