Supportive and Palliative Care Indicators Tool

SPICT is used to help identify people with deteriorating health due to one or more life shortening conditions for palliative care and future care planning.

Life shortening conditions may affect a person’s physical or mental health, psychological or spiritual wellbeing, family, home or social situation. Palliative care is holistic care of the person and people close to them.

Palliative care is integrated with the best available treatments of underlying illnesses or health conditions.

Palliative care is provided by many health care staff and care workers – at home, in residential or care homes, clinics and hospitals. Palliative care specialist services offer advice, education and training to these staff, as well as care and support for people, their families and carers.

SPICT has two groups of indicators:

• SPICT general indicators are seen in people with many different life shortening conditions.
• SPICT clinical indicators are signs that help us recognise a person’s health is changing due one or more conditions.

SPICT is not a prognostic tool. Life expectancy for an individual is variable and uncertain. Early palliative care and care planning enables people and their families to live as well as possible. Palliative care continues when someone is dying and in their last few weeks, days or hours of life.

Many people are still identified for palliative care too late. This happens more often if they have worsening organ function, neurological conditions including dementia, multiple health conditions (multimorbidity) or frailty in older age. People with a single or main life shortening condition like cancer are at risk of care that is more disease-focused than person-centred. SPICT and Using SPICT help us give better care.

Please note: SPICT has been developed and validated for adults not children.

Future care planning helps people manage changes in their life, health and care. It usually includes and involves people close to the person. Future care planning can help people avoid crises and be better prepared if things do change for them.

SPICT Translations