Marie Curie welcomes Palliative Care Funding Review
Comment published
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In October, Marie Curie Cancer Care submitted evidence to an independent Palliative Care Funding Review. In response to the review’s interim report announced today, Steve Dewar, Marie Curie Cancer Care’s Director of Research and Innovation comments: “Marie Curie Nurses provide free end-of-life care to people with terminal cancer and other illnesses in their own homes. However, despite all of our best efforts we know there is still a gap between the intentions of the national End of Life Care strategy and the reality of care and support on the ground. Inconsistent provision of 24/7 community based care is the biggest challenge we have to tackle now. This is crucial to enable people to be cared for and die in their place of choice. “One of the most important things we can do is advocate on behalf of people in need of care and support at the end of their lives, as well as their loved ones. We therefore believe that any changes made to the way services are funded must be based on what patients, families and carers tell us they need and want. “Marie Curie Cancer Care has today published the results of a survey asking MPs key questions about end of life care. Eighty seven per cent believe that people should have the right to die in their place of choice and almost the same proportion say this will only be possible with more community nursing care, particularly out-of-hours.” -ENDS- |
Contact information
Marie Curie press office
- 0844 893 2101
- media@mariecurie.org.uk
Updated
Notes to editor
Marie Curie is one of the UK’s largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, it expects to provide care to around 29,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its hospices this year and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
Funding
Around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of our funds coming from the NHS.
Marie Curie Nurses
The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end-of-life care, totally free for patients in their own homes.
Research
The charity has two centres for palliative care research, The Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit at University College London and The Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute in Liverpool. It also funds seven fundamental scientific research groups which investigate the causes and treatments of cancer. This research was previously carried out at the Marie Curie Research Institute in Oxted, Surrey. The programmes are now located in universities around the country, and will receive funding from the charity until 2012.
Supporting the choice to die at home
Research (Views about dying at home, 2008, survey commissioned by Marie Curie Cancer Care, carried out by YouGov) shows around 65 per cent of people would like to die at home if they had a terminal illness, with a sizeable minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be. Since 2004 Marie Curie has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die at home.
Tags:
- Research