Health: National Future Care Planning Working Group

Overview

Future care planning is about thinking and planning ahead for people at any age or stage of their life. It is particularly helpful when someone has one or more health conditions or disabilities that mean their health will change, is living with a serious illness, or is getting older and less well.

Future care planning conversations include ‘What matters to you?’ and shared decision making about available options for care and treatments. A person-led, future care plan summarises what people say about themselves alongside clinical advice to guide treatment and care if they become unwell. 

In a letter issued on 20 September 2023, the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) highlighted a change in terminology from “anticipatory care planning” to “future care planning”. Read more Information on future care planning on NHS Inform.

This group was set up in September 2023 to take forward the national delivery programme.

Members

Group members are from diverse professions and staff groups working in health and social care, as well as delivery partners, national and third sector organisations and relevant Scottish Government policy teams. These include:

• NHS Education for Scotland  
• Healthcare Improvement Scotland 
• NHS 24 
• Primary Care Out-of-hours 
• Scottish Ambulance Service 
• Realistic Medicine and Value Based Health and Care 
• Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) NHS Board Leads 
• Resuscitation Council UK 

• Scottish Treatment Escalation Planning (TEP) Group 
• End of Life Together programme, NHS Highland 
• 7STEP Programme, NHS Lothian 
• Queen’s Nursing Institute Scotland 
• Care at Home, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 
• Anticipatory/Future Care Planning Programme, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 
• Paediatric End of Life Care Network (PELiCaN) 
• Scottish Care 
• Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care 
• Marie Curie Scotland 
• Macmillan Cancer Support 
• Age Concern Scotland 
• Carers Scotland 
• General Practice Division, Scottish Government 
• Digital Health and Care, Scottish Government 
• Social Work Unit, Scottish Government 
• Health and Social Care, Scottish Government 
• Dementia Unit, Scottish Government 
• Autism and Learning Disabilities Unit, Scottish Government 
• Intellectual Disabilities/ Neurodevelopment, Scottish Government 

• Mental Health and Incapacity Law Unit, Scottish Government 
• Mental Health and Welfare, Unscheduled and Primary Care, Scottish Government 
• Improving Complex Care, Scottish Government 
• Getting it Right for Everyone (GIRFE) Programme, Scottish Government