The UK's second, national day dedicated to Advance Care Planning

The second national day highlighting the importance of Advance Care Planning

On the 7th May 2025 the second national Advance Care Planning Day will take place across the United Kingdom. This is now an annual day of action and awareness will highlight the importance of Advance Care Planning and encourage society to document, share and discuss their wishes.

It builds upon the incredible success and impact of the first National Advance Care Plan Day in 2024.

I will be organising the awareness day and campaign (with the support of MyWishes) with two friends Clare Fuller from Speak for Me LPA and Dani Ayre, Palliative Care Educator at Norfolk & Norwich Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Snapshot from last year...

ACP Day is a national campaign. It also includes a national conference taking place in Norfolk. MyWishes and the Digital Legacy Association will be in attendence this year (although I will not be presenting this).

Last year we sold out the 320 person venue (tickets are free) and more than three quarters of the in-person tickets have now been reserved for this year’s conference. In 2025 the National ACP Day Conference returns to Norfolk. Speakers include; Dr. Christian R. Ntizimira, Evie King, Clare Fuller, Corinna Grimes and Vicki Caldwell to name but a few.

Information and ways to get involved

Host your own ACP Day event

We encourage professionals and those with lived experience to host their own event. Events will be listed on the national website and the Advance Care Plan Day team will help promote your event ahead of time. Click here to list and host your own event 

Language Matters

We are engaging with all nations across the UK. We have also developed a range of sharing assets with terminology used in each nation. 

If you live in Scotland and host a ‘Future Care Plan Day’ event or you live in Wales and host a ‘Advance & Future Care Plan Day’ event we will list and promote it with the terminology relevant to the communities you serve.

This year’s national conference will conclude with a panel discussion about the different approaches to advance care planning between the nations. A representative from each nation will be contributing. ‘Language and terminology’ will be explored 

 

National Conference 

The national conference returns to Norfolk. Last year’s sold out conference welcomed 320 in person attendees and thousands watched the live stream. This year’s conference speakers include Dr. Christian R. Ntizimira, Evie King, Celia Kitzinger, Clare Fuller and Vicki Caldwell. 

The conference is free to attend in person. It is also free to access the live stream. Last year organisations across the globe had ‘watch party’s’ at their place of work. We encourage you to host such an event should you wish to do so. To reserve a physical ticket, setup a watch party or reserve a virtual ticket click here.

 

Making a pledge and empowering others

Both the general public and professionals can pledge to complete one or more advance care planning tasks. Pledges can be shared on social media for accountability, conversation and awareness.  Pledge cards are available on the website individually. The complete set of cards can be found in this year’s resource pack.

 

Empowering others can take place in a number of ways. This includes raising awareness of the day ahead of time and sharing prompt cards. Prompt cards outline some of the components of Advance Care Planning. Sharing helps cards help raise awareness, reflection and action. Through education and social participation, an increased number of Advance Care Planning tasks such as documentation and important discussions will take place in the weeks and months leading up to the day and on the day itself. 

 

Share your story

Those wanting to submit their own Advance and Future Care Planning stories (both good and bad) are encouraged to share them for publication if they wish to do so. The sharing of stories helps us all learn what we are doing well and how we can improve.

 

Podcasts

The first ACP Day 2025 podcast is now live and available in the resources section. A number of further ACP Day podcasts will be released ahead of the national day for awareness and action. These draw on our experiences of care planning, the awareness day and insights obtained from both professionals and the general public.

 

List your organisation as a supporter

Charitable organisations working within relevant fields are encouraged to be listed as a ‘supporter’. This is free and your organisation will be featured on the website.

 

About Advance and Future Care Planning

Advance and Future Care Planning is a voluntary process where someone thinks about and makes plans for their future health, social care and wider wishes. An Advance Care Plan can be one or more documents that express someone’s future health, social care and wider wishes.

The vast majority of adults in the UK have not created and shared one or more documents outlining wishes for their future care. The aim of the awareness and action day is to help change this. Making plans in advance can be of great benefit whilst someone is healthy, when they are unwell, for care professionals and for the person’s friends and family members in the future. To learn more and get involved visit www.AdvanceCarePlanDay.org 

 

Information for editors

  • Copyright free Images and resources for use: ACP Day 2025 Resources 
  • Website image examples below (these can be found in the Google Drive link above)

Other news (rarely updated)

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