Marie Curie response to The Kings Fund report: Better Value in the NHS - The role of changes in clinical practice

Marie Curie response to The Kings Fund report: Better Value in the NHS - The role of changes in clinical practice

Scott Sinclair, Head of Policy and Public Affairs for England, said:

“We welcome the publication of the King’s Fund report; Better Value in the NHS. As the report points out, around 50 per cent of the half a million people who die in England and Wales each year die in hospital. Many will have experienced long and often unnecessary admissions and ultimately do not want to die there. We know that people who receive our Marie Curie Nursing Service in the community are less likely to use hospital services, much more likely to die at home and have a £500 reduction in total care costs compared to people in hospital.

“Pressure on the NHS is set to increase as we see more people living with multiple long term conditions and a rise in the number of people dying. The Government needs to ensure that more people with a terminal illness are cared for in their place of choice. To do this, it will be necessary to provide mandatory and ongoing training to healthcare professionals to recognise and refer the 92,000 people currently missing out on palliative care in England to the care and support that they need in the community. The Government will also need speed up access to social care for people with a terminal illness, as the current waits of 30 days or longer put substantial barriers in place for those people trying to get home from hospital.

“Providing community care is right for the NHS and for people with a terminal illness.  However, given the scale of demographic change, it is important that the Government and NHS Trusts across England focus on improving capacity of and access to community care services.”