The Universal Care Plan (UCP) is a secure digital care plan used across London that allows you to share important information about your health, care needs, wishes and preferences with the professionals involved in your care. It helps ensure that the care you receive reflects what matters most to you. (ucp.onelondon.online)
A UCP is created following a conversation with a healthcare professional, such as a GP, nurse or other member of your care team. Together, you can record:
- What is important to you in your day-to-day life
- Your care preferences and future wishes
- Information about your health conditions and treatments
- Support you need and who provides it
- Details of family members, carers or others involved in your care
- Important information that may be needed during an emergency
Who Can Have a UCP?
A Universal Care Plan is available to people of all ages who may benefit from having their health and care information shared across services. This includes:
- People living with multiple long-term conditions
- Older adults with complex care needs
- People with dementia, frailty, learning disabilities or autism
- People receiving palliative or end-of-life care
- Individuals with conditions that can cause sudden illness, such as sickle cell disease, unstable diabetes or severe asthma.
- Anyone who wants their wishes and preferences recorded and shared with healthcare professionals.
How a UCP Can Help You
Better Coordination of Care
Your care information can be accessed by authorised health and care professionals involved in your treatment, helping everyone work from the same information.
Reduces Repetition
You do not need to repeatedly explain your medical history, care needs and preferences to different services.
Supports Emergency Care
Services such as NHS 111, the London Ambulance Service, out-of-hours GPs and hospital teams may be able to view important information about your care during an emergency.
Storing Important Documents and Decisions
The Universal Care Plan can also be used to record important information about your future care decisions, including whether you have a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) for Health and Welfare. Details of your appointed attorney(s) can be included within your care plan, helping healthcare professionals understand who is legally authorised to make health and care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself.
Where appropriate, information about advance care planning, advance decisions, resuscitation decisions and other important documents can also be recorded within the Universal Care Plan. Having this information available in one secure place helps ensure that your wishes are known and can be taken into account when decisions about your care are being made.
Support for Carers
If you support someone else, the Universal Care Plan can also help. A carer’s contingency plan can be recorded, explaining what should happen if you are temporarily or permanently unable to provide care. This helps ensure continuity of support for the person you care for.
Managing Multiple Conditions
If you have more than one health condition, a UCP can bring together information about:
- Your conditions
- Current treatments and medications
- Care professionals involved in your care
- Support services
- Personal preferences and goals
Having this information in one place can help improve communication and coordination across different healthcare services.
Accessing Your Universal Care Plan
You can view your Universal Care Plan through the NHS App and NHS Login.
Using the NHS App
- Open the NHS App.
- Navigate to Your Health.
- Select Care Plans.
- Choose Universal Care Plan.
Is My Information Secure?
Yes. Your information is stored securely on NHS systems and is only shared with authorised health and care professionals involved in your care. The system is designed to support safe information sharing across health and care services while maintaining patient confidentiality.
