Advance care planning update

In this post-lockdown period, many advance care planning (ACP) staff who were seconded to help with the COVID-19 pandemic response are now coming back into their ACP roles. Thank you for your tireless energy and commitment during this time.

Now more than ever it is important to encourage people to start an advance care plan and think about their future health and wellbeing.

talkingCOVID webpages

The me kōrero | talkingCOVID webpages on the Commission’s website, developed to help clinicians have conversations with people with COVID-19 and their whānau, continue to be a valuable resource. They have had nearly 1,700 page views in June 2020, and the ACP pages have had nearly 6,000 views.

Although Aotearoa thankfully has not had the overwhelming number of COVID-19 cases seen overseas, we are mindful of the possibility of a resurgence and encourage clinicians to have a look at the talkingCOVID webpages. They feature several useful resources, including an acute version of the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG), as well as resources specifically for aged residential care.

Ō tātou hiranga | What matters to us hui, 2–3 December 2020

In December 2020, the Commission is hosting a shared decision-making and ACP virtual hui for health care workers and managers. It will be an engaging and thoughtful two days of discussion and exploration about our role in making what matters most to our patients and their whānau the centre of our health care planning and delivery.

We are now calling for abstracts for the hui, which need to be in by 10 September.

Registration will open on 1 September 2020.

Comings and goings

The ACP national team has said a reluctant farewell to Helen Rigby and Martha Sorenson, who have taken up full-time roles with Capital & Coast DHB. Thank you to Martha and Helen for your hard work and great commitment to ACP.

We have welcomed Maarie Hutana to the national team. Maarie is a haematology nurse who has been working in ACP and will be involved in Māori engagement across the programme, as well as community engagement projects. She will be working on a part-time basis.

We are currently recruiting a new project manager to support the large programme we will deliver this year. We hope to have someone in place by the end of August 2020.

Kia kōrero | Let’s talk advance care planning campaign phase two, 23 November–13 December 2020

Phase two of the Kia kōrero | Let’s talk campaign will run in November 2020. We will use existing campaign material, along with new stories and resources, which are in development.

This timing means we can promote the message of ACP being a ‘gift for the whānau’ in the lead-up to the festive season and the summer break, when friends and whānau will be gathering. We will also use the campaign as a framework for launching the ACP guide for whānau and guidelines for working with diverse communities (see more below).

We are developing a communications plan for phase two of the campaign, which will be shared with you.

ACP guide for whānau

The development of this resource is well underway, led by the ACP Māori advisory resource group. In August 2020, we will share the draft resource with the ACP steering group, ACP resource advisory group, ACP facilitators and Māori health workers for feedback, and test it with consumers and whānau. The resource will be launched in November.

Māori advisory group

The national team is working with the ACP steering group and stakeholders to support the formation of a Māori advisory group for the ACP programme. The group will work alongside the national team to develop a Māori engagement strategy and roadmap of actions to address inequity.

ACP guide for working with diverse communities

We are developing a short, simple guide to help communities who feel the existing ACP guide doesn’t meet all their needs and who wish to develop an ACP guide for their own people, communities and contexts. The advance care plan template will not change.

The guide will encourage communities to work together to develop an ACP guide – for example, to explore what about the current ACP guide works or doesn’t work, what needs to be adapted and why, and what else would support the community to engage in ACP.

‘Snip Bits’ project

A ‘Snip Bits’ project is underway, to develop web-based resources to support people to create their own advance care plan. It will incorporate an overview of the plan as well as short video clips of consumers and clinicians talking about their experience developing and/or using a plan.

The project was sparked by the COVID-19 response and requests to develop an interactive resource that supports consumers to work through an advance care plan, without necessarily having access to clinician support.

ACP training and education

We are preparing for train-the-trainer workshops in September and October, and anticipate training 35 new DHB trainers. In August, we will be supporting existing trainers who have not been delivering workshops since before lock-down with refresher webinars.