Across our HSCP’s health and social care services, we aim to deliver person-centred care. To do this our staff need to work with everyone – the person being supported, those who matter to them and the other health care professionals involved in their care.

Across NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC), the Future Care Planning service, hosted by Glasgow City HSCP, supports people to think and plan ahead for changes in their health and care. This might happen when an individual of any age is living with a serious illness or has one or more long term conditions or disabilities, which could mean their health will get worse at some stage, or a person is getting older and frailer. Future care planning focuses on what matters to them.

The benefits for patients and their families are that they have a person-centred, patient-facing plan. This can record their future needs, preferences and wishes alongside clinical recommendations for treatment and care that have been discussed with them. This information can guide professionals, seeing a patient for the first time and improve continuity of care.

Everyone is unique and has their own ideas about what they would like. However, there might be things you’ve (or the person you support) never considered like where you would prefer to receive treatment, or what treatments you would or would not want. Please talk to the people involved in your care and ask them to explain all the options that are available so that you can make an informed choice.

Speak to the people that matter to you (or the person you support). Let them know that you think this is really important and you want to have this conversation. Often we don’t talk about these topics because we think it’ll be upsetting for everyone involved, but these conversations give people the opportunity to learn more about each other which many people appreciate. It’s also reassuring for people to know what your wishes are so that if they need to, they can make decisions that match these.

Jennifer Watt, HomeFirst Design and Implementation Manager, NHSGGC said: “It’s been great to see more people thinking and talking about what matters to them, both now and in the future. The plans that come from these conversations really help staff understand what’s going on and how they can help people receive the care and treatment that’s right for them.

“We have loads of free resources for both staff and the public on our website – please check them out and begin your Future Care Planning journey.”