Lancaster University is working with a local NHS Trust to understand and improve the experiences of patients with advance care planning (ACP). The study will explore patient views on ACP which involves a detailed discussion with a patient receiving palliative treatments for cancer.

The project is jointly led by Professor Sheila Payne from the International Observatory on End-of-Life Care at Lancaster University and Professor Ruth Board, a Medical Oncologist at the Rosemere Cancer Centre at the Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust.

Professor Payne said: “ACP can be a sensitive topic and is carried out at the pace and with the full consent of the person concerned and those close to them. We will interview patients and their carers about when, what and with whom these discussions should take place.

”This is the first time that an in-depth qualitative study has been undertaken to ask patients how they understand the term “advance care planning”, how comfortable they feel about expressing their preferences and when they regard the optimal time for these conversations to take place.”

Professor Board said: “This research project will help improve advance care planning conversations with patients. The study may provide the foundation for further research into how best to help healthcare professionals have ACP conversations with patients and carers in a way that is timely, sensitive and in accordance with patients’ wishes”.

Dan Hill, Head of hospital charities at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Rosemere Cancer Foundation is delighted to support this very important study, which comes at a time of national debate on end-of-life care. Research is vital to determining how we make that three-way conversation on ACP between patients, the health professionals treating them and patients’ loved ones easier on everyone in the future.”

The study builds upon the work of the NIHR funded Northwest Coast Palliative Care Research Partnership and the results are due at the end of the year.