ABSTRACT
The End of Life Care Strategy in the UK encourages communication regarding preferred place of care and death early in the patient’s illness. The emphasis is firmly placed on advance care planning; a statement of wishes and preferences. Promoting and facilitating discussions about end of life care has many benefits, such as ensuring that wishes regarding organ donation after death can be raised with relatives who will ultimately have to give consent, and that people have the chance to discuss their wishes about their funeral with relatives. This chapter presents the story of Anthony who used to visit a 97-year old woman at a nursing home. It is helpful for professionals to consider instigating discussions regarding a patient’s preferences and wishes for care during his illness and death when they realise that the patient’s life expectancy is likely to be less than 12 months or when the patient has raised concerns that relate to this issue.
