ReSPECT, which stands for Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment, is a two-way discussion that takes place between the patient and a member of our healthcare staff. ReSPECT captures the discussion of the patient’s wishes and recommendations for care in an emergency situation.
It is important that patients are involved in decisions around their future care and these decisions are documented to help health and care staff plan the appropriate treatment and care.
Documenting such decisions in advance allows the patient’s voice to be heard, even if in the future they are too unwell or lose capacity to be involved in such discussions. To support this, we have been testing the paper version of ReSPECT since spring 2022.
Dr Cat Nisbet, a GP in East Kilbride, talks about the importance of NHS staff being able to respect the wishes of patients.
Chris Deighan, NHS Lanarkshire’s Executive Medical Director, added: “Through conversations between an individual, their families and our healthcare staff, patients express what matters to them and can discuss what is realistic in terms of their care and treatment.
“The information, when captured on a digital ReSPECT plan, is saved via the national digital platform and the health board’s clinical portal with a copy provided via docman to the patient’s GP and e-KIS systems. A patient’s wishes are then accessible within their medical record, enabling health and care staff to make the right decisions on the most appropriate treatment and care in line with the patient’s wishes.
“This electronic information will only be accessed by healthcare professionals with appropriate login credentials using the patient CHI via clinical portal or the ReSPECT web browser.”
