ReSPECT forms in general practice – more than just a DNACPR

Today, we’re speaking to Professor Anne Slowther, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Ethics based at the University of Warwick.Title of paper: Experiences of using the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) in English general practice: a qualitative study among key primary health and social care professionals, patients, and their relativesAvailable at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0248The Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) is a specific model of emergency care treatment planning now used in primary care and hospitals, and in many areas of the UK. It has been evaluated in hospital settings, but little is known about how it is understood and operationalised in general practice. Our research found a consensus that ReSPECT could facilitate a person-centred approach to future treatment decision making, but there are specific challenges in implementing ReSPECT in a community setting. A revised approach needs to consider uncertainty of illness trajectories over time and to emphasise patient values to facilitate decision making in an emergency.