Advance Care Planning Day: Supporting people and communities who are marginalised

Advance Care Planning Day highlights the importance of planning ahead and having meaningful conversations about future care. It is a chance to celebrate the conversations that help people share what matters most to them — from their wishes and priorities to the care and support they would want in the future. This year's theme reminds us that everyone should have the opportunity to be heard, understood and involved in decisions about their care.

The National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) is proud to support Advance Care Planning Day and encourages organisations and individuals to explore the resources, events, and guidance available through the national campaign. NACEL also provides a range of data, insights, and resources that support good advance care planning practice in hospital settings.

What the NACEL 2024 data tells us

Listen: why advance care planning matters

‍Mary Miller joined the Speak for Me podcast to talk about advance care planning and why these conversations can be so valuable.

‍Listen to episode 141: speakforme.co.uk/podcast-episode-141

‍Putting personalised care into practice

‍This links to NACEL 2024 Recommendation 3: Improve personalised care and support planning (page 4 of the recommendations document).

‍ View recommendations: NACEL 2024 recommendations (PDF) ‍

2025 data now available

The 2025 NACEL dataset is now live in the Data and Improvement Tool (DIT). The full report is due for publication in August 2026.

‍Log in to the DIT: data.nacel.nhs.uk

NACEL 2026 Feedback Form

The deadline to complete the NACEL feedback form is 8am on Monday, 22nd June 2026. Thank you to those who have submitted the form so far. The NACEL Team continues to invite colleagues from participating organisations to complete a brief, 5-minute form to share your feedback on how NACEL 2026 has been progressing so far. This insight will provide valuable information as we begin scoping NACEL 2027.

Your input is extremely valuable.

You are welcome to fill this out either anonymously or with your details.

Click below to complete the form:

Don’t Miss Out! Participate in the Upcoming National Events

Clinical Audit Awareness Week — 22–26 June 2026

Clinical Audit Awareness Week (#CAAW26) celebrates the critical role of clinical audit and data-driven improvement in saving and improving lives. Across five themed days, the week features a packed programme of free webinars covering topics from patient safety and equity to innovation and the NHS 10-Year Plan. Promotional resources are also available to help your organisation get involved.

Click below to view the full programme:

National Advance Care Planning Day — 1 July 2026

Advance Care Planning Day highlights the importance of planning ahead and having meaningful conversations about future care. It is a chance to celebrate the conversations that help people share what matters most to them — from their wishes and priorities to the care and support they would want in the future. This year's theme reminds us that everyone should have the opportunity to be heard, understood and involved in decisions about their care.

The National Audit of Care at the End of Life (NACEL) is proud to support Advance Care Planning Day and encourages organisations and individuals to explore the resources, events, and guidance available through the national campaign. NACEL also provides a range of data, insights, and resources that support good advance care planning practice in hospital settings. 


Click below to view the full programme:

What does the NACEL 2024 Data tell us?

Listen: why advance care planning matters
Mary Miller joined the Speak for Me podcast to talk about advance care planning and why these conversations can be so valuable.
Listen to episode 141: speakforme.co.uk/podcast-episode-141

Putting personalised care into practice
This links to NACEL 2024 Recommendation 3: Improve personalised care and support planning (page 4 of the recommendations document).

View recommendations: NACEL 2024 recommendations (PDF)

2025 data now available
The 2025 NACEL dataset is now live in the Data and Improvement Tool (DIT). The full report is due for publication in August 2026.

Log in to the DIT: data.nacel.nhs.uk

Whether it starts with one question, one conversation or one shared preference, advance care planning is a vital part of end of life care — helping ensure that a person's wishes, priorities and preferences are known, respected and central to every decision made at the end of life.

NACEL Returned to the Community Hospital Association

Last month, the NACEL team attended the Community Hospitals Association (CHA) Conference for the second year running, connecting with colleagues, delivering workshops, and sharing how audit data is helping community hospitals demonstrate and improve the quality of end-of-life care. With findings from 2024 and 2025 showing community hospitals frequently match or exceed acute settings in end-of-life care quality, there is a compelling story to tell.

Click below to read more:

NACEL 2025 Figures Data Pack

Understanding how your organisation's data compares requires context. The NACEL 2025 Figures Data Pack has been published on the portal to provide exactly that, offering a national picture of case ascertainment, submission rates, and variation across acute and community hospital settings for 2025. Whether you are reviewing your own data or preparing for NACEL 2026, the pack is a useful reference point for understanding where your organisation sits within the wider national picture.

Click below to view the data pack:

Staff Reported Measure Closing + Audit Halfway Point

Reminder: The Staff Reported Measure element of the audit will close on Tuesday, 30th June 2026.

We encourage you to begin sharing the survey with members of inpatient staff who are likely to come into contact with dying patients and those important to them as soon as possible. Guidance and promotional materials can be found on our guidance page.  Please note that any submission without any Staff Reported Measure surveys received will be flagged as an outlier due to partial non-participation in line with the NACEL 2026 Management of Outliers Policy.

We are now at the halfway year point of the audit. Please continue submitting data to all open data elements, including the Case Note Review and the Bereavement Survey. You can retrospectively add more Case Note Reviews to previous quarters. Please be mindful of the data reporting timescales on the DIT and all key dates here.

Click below to view the data specifications for all elements