In an emergency, healthcare professionals may have to make rapid decisions about your treatment, and you may not be well enough to discuss what is important to you.
ReSPECT (Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment) empowers you to guide your medical team on what treatments you would or would not want to be considered for.
- ReSPECT plans are conversations between you and your healthcare professionals. Together you decide which types of care and treatment you would or would not want to be considered for in an emergency.
- Treatments that can be life-sustaining for some people carry a risk of causing harm, discomfort or loss of dignity for others. Many people choose not to accept that risk if the treatment benefit is small. Your ReSPECT plan records your preferences and the agreed realistic recommendations for emergency situations, whatever stage of life you are at.
- The agreed plan is recorded in a ReSPECT document. The plan will be put into your medical notes while you are in hospital and given to you to keep when you are discharged. It is important that you keep this document in a safe place at home where you or someone else can find it in a medical emergency. Please make sure that all healthcare professionals called to help you in an emergency are given your ReSPECT document to read. This will help you to be given the care recommended on your plan
About ReSPECT
- ReSPECT is a process whereby a plan is created for your care in emergency situations when you may not be able to make decisions or express your wishes.
- The ReSPECT process can be for anyone but will have increasing significance for if you have complex health needs or if you are acutely unwell.
- The aim of the ReSPECT process is to reach a shared understanding of your current health and how this may change in the future; establishing your wishes and preferences for medical treatments in the event of a future emergency.
How it works:
- The plan is created from discussions between you and healthcare professionals involved in your care. Your medical team will outline realistic medical treatments, and these will be considered alongside your preferences.
- This plan can be reviewed at any time if your wishes change or if there is a change in your health.
Sharing the plan
- The plan stays with you and should be available to health professionals called to help you in an emergency, whether you are at home or being cared for elsewhere.
- Professionals such as ambulance crews, out-of-hours doctors, care home staff and hospital staff will be better able to make quick decisions about how best to help you if they can see your ReSPECT plan in an emergency.
Making changes
- The plan should be reviewed every time you are admitted to hospital and again if there are any changes to your health while you are in hospital.
- This can also be discussed with your GP.
