Marie Curie response to One Chance To Get It Right one-year-on report

“No room for complacency”

One-year-on from the publication of its report One Chance to Get it Right, the Leadership Alliance for the Care of Dying People (LACDP) has published an overview of its members progress on their commitments.  The Alliance consists of 21 organisations from across the health and care system, including key regulatory and statutory bodies. Marie Curie along with other voluntary sector partners were invited to support and contribute to the work of the Alliance.

Commenting on today’s publication Dr Jane Collins, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said:

“Today’s one-year on progress report is encouraging and an important first step towards improving palliative and end of life care in England.  We are particularly pleased with the Care Quality Commission’s new focus on end of life care and its commitment to measuring the quality of care that people receive at the end of their lives. 

“However, we cannot ignore the succession of recent reports that have highlighted the scale of the problem facing our health and social care system.  These reports have revealed a series of unacceptable failures in care, gaps in services, inadequate care in hospitals and outside normal working hours as well as thousands of people missing out on the care they need.   This is the reality of palliative and end of life care now, and the situation will only get worse as demand grows.  There is no room for complacency.

“As the UK leading charity for people living with a terminal illness, and their families, Marie Curie is committed to sharing its knowledge and continuing to campaign to ensure that everyone with a terminal illness gets the care and support they need and deserve now and in the future. 

“Over the last year, Marie Curie has also continued to play its part by expanding and introducing new services to enable more people with a terminal illness and their families, get the care and support they need, as well as funding new research activities, both independently and in partnership with other organisations, to expand understanding in palliative and end of life care.”

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