Palliative Care
(asked on 2nd February 2026) - View Source
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what consideration the Department has given to end-of-life decision-making in cases involving progressive loss of capacity, including advanced dementia.
We recognise that high-quality palliative care and end-of-life care should include the opportunity for individuals to discuss their wishes and preferences so that these can be taken fully into account in the provision of their future care, also known as advance care planning (ACP). ACP is a voluntary process of person-centred discussion between an individual and their care providers about their preferences and the priorities for their future care.
In order to facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP, NHS England has published Universal Principles for ACP, which are available at the following link:
https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/
The universal principles sets out that ACP should take place while a person has the mental capacity to engage in these conversations. An output of these discussions may include an advance statement of wishes, preferences, and priorities. An advance statement is not legally binding, but it is useful to inform and guide decision-making in the future if a person subsequently loses their capacity to make decisions about their care. A person can also nominate a Lasting Power of Attorney who is then able to make decisions on behalf of that person should they lose capacity to make decisions about their care.
Additionally, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance on dementia includes recommendations on ACP and involving people living with dementia in decisions about their care. The NICE guidance recommends using an anticipatory healthcare planning process for people living with dementia who are approaching the end of life. It recommends involving the person and their family members or carers, as appropriate, as far as possible and using the principles of best-interest decision-making if the person does not have capacity to make decisions about their care. Further information on the NICE guidance on dementia is available at the following link: