Putting people's wishes at the heart of care

Working together with the Lambeth Advance Care Planning Consortium we have been supporting local people to plan ahead for their care and treatment.  

I think it’s a great idea. The anxiety that comes with taking care of an elderly or sick loved one can be reduced by knowing their preferences and it allows people to be comfortable and happy in their last days!

In 2017 we received early feedback that local people would welcome conversations about end-of-life care, and in 2019 Healthwatch Lambeth in partnership with the national charity Compassion in Dying secured funding for a three-year grant to raise community awareness of advance care planning, educate professionals and establish a one-to-one support service for Lambeth residents.  

Since the launch of the project,  

• 1,083 local people shared their wishes and learned about advance care planning at awareness raising community events including the ‘Before I Die…’ tent at the Lambeth Country Show 

• 142 people have gone on to make advance care plans  

Different groups from Lambeth’s diverse community have had the opportunity to reflect what would be most important to them at the end of their life, or if they lost the ability to communicate, and been introduced to the three main tools used in advance care planning to record them. GPs and other health and social care professionals have been trained and supported to have important conversations about the values, wishes and priorities of the people they care for.  

Local people in Lambeth are able to share their wishes and have confidence that they will be respected, by services and those close to them.