National Survey of Bereaved People (VOICES)

Scott Sinclair, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, England at Marie Curie said:

“The latest VOICES survey shows us that people’s experience of the care they receive at the end of life is not changing substantially year on year. There are still areas of concern around pain relief for people at home – where results from bereaved relatives found that in 1 in 13 people didn’t have their pain relieved at all – and the dignity and respect that hospital doctors and nurses show to people at the end of life.

“It is vital that these variations in care are addressed, so that people have the highest quality of care wherever they are when they die. This is why we need an urgent response from the Government to the Independent Review on Choice in End of Life Care, which was published over a year ago. Only through improving funding to palliative care services can the Government ensure high quality pain relief for people who choose to die at home and better access to specialist palliative care in hospital.

“These findings provide an invaluable picture of the care people receive towards the end of their life in England. It is important that we continue to collect national data to highlight what still needs to be done to meet people’s needs .”