Marie Curie responds to report on the NHS Long Term Plan and improving end of life care in England

Mark Jackson, Marie Curie’s Policy Manager for England, said: “As today’s report ‘At the crossroads: How can the NHS Long Term Plan improve end of life care in England?’ reflects, there has been no shortage of government publications calling for change in end of life care.  Indeed, Marie Curie highlighted the same issue in 2016.  

“Despite this, one of the greatest inequities in end of life care is the wide variation in access to high quality care that exists across the local health systems. 

“Data shows that more than seven out of every ten people die from a condition that needs palliative care and that the number of people requiring palliative care is increasing rapidly, and is set to rise by 17% during the lifespan of the NHS’s Long Term Plan. 

“Palliative care needs to be seen as a priority across the NHS and social care - it needs to be properly planned and resourced, otherwise those approaching the end of life will miss out on the care they need. 

“Marie Curie is committed to working with STPs and ICSs to tackle inequalities in palliative and end of life care.   We also continue to work with the Royal College of GPs to promote the new end of life care QOF improvement module alongside the Daffodil Standards. Combined they provide the biggest opportunity to improve end of life care in general practice in over a decade.”