Final days to provide feedback on the Emergency Care and Treatment Plan (ECTP)

The Resuscitation Council’s (UK) consultation on the Emergency Care and Treatment Plan (ECTP) closes on Monday. The Resuscitation Council (UK) is giving health professionals the opportunity to provide feedback on the concept of the ECTP and its supporting documents via a survey on their website.

The purpose of an ECTP is to record a summary of decisions about what care and treatment a patient would or would not want to receive, if their health deteriorates and they are unable to make those choices at the time.

The decisions recorded on the form can provide immediate information to guide health professionals who are looking after a patient in an emergency. They may not have met the patient before and may not know full details of the patient’s usual state of health or their wishes. Those professionals may include doctors, nurses and ambulance paramedics. They may be looking after the patient at home, in a hospital, in other places such as a nursing home or hospices, or during a journey by ambulance.

The ECTP aims to ensure that patients receive the best possible treatment for their individual situation. It cannot be used to request or demand treatments that will not be beneficial to them.

This consultation offers paramedics and other pre-hospital professionals an excellent opportunity to voice their views on the ECTP and help shape its future direction. I therefore implore you to take a moment over the next few days to fill in the survey.