Palliative and End of Life Care Framework 'Needs to Deliver Concrete Action'

Marie Curie has welcomed the UK government's commitment to develop a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England, but has warned that it must deliver swift, concrete action to avoid becoming another set of promises that fail to prevent people dying in pain and distress.

Marie Curie has long called for a comprehensive national plan to address the growing crisis in end of life care, with thousands of people each year dying in pain, distress, or without the care and dignity they deserve. Each year, around 500,000 people need palliative care in England, and an estimated one in four miss out. Without urgent action, the number of people dying without the care they need is only going to grow.

What Marie Curie says the modern service framework must address:

Stronger national leadership and standards so everyone gets the same high-quality palliative and end of life care wherever they live.

A fair, sustainable funding model and proper planning for the workforce needed now and in the future.

Palliative care embedded in neighbourhood health services, with earlier identification and support closer to home.

24/7 access to specialist advice and support, including palliative care experts in A&E to help people get to their preferred place of care.

Dr Sarah Holmes, Chief Medical Officer, Marie Curie, said:
"This commitment is an important step in the right direction, but there is a lot of work to do to fix the realities that dying people and their families are facing every day. We see too many people in pain, too many crisis admissions to hospital and too many people going without the care, support and dignity they deserve at the end of life."

"If this strategy is to make a difference, it must deliver concrete action to provide consistent, high quality, 24/7 support in every part of the country. Marie Curie looks forward to working closely with the Government to ensure it does just that."

Matthew Reed, Chief Executive of Marie Curie, said:
"Marie Curie welcomes the UK Government's commitment to produce a Palliative and End of Life Care Modern Services Framework for England – a vital step forward. Promises now need to become action. We stand ready to work with the government and the NHS to turn today's commitments into real change. Too many people are dying in pain, frightened and without support, and too many families are left to cope alone in their darkest hours, with nowhere to turn. This must change.

"Marie Curie has long called for 24/7 access to palliative care in every community, personalised support from skilled professionals, and a system that joins up care, so no one has to repeat their story or falls through the cracks. We are already driving this shift by placing our nurses in GP surgeries and primary care networks and supporting A&E teams to identify people at the end of life, helping them return to their preferred place of care. But much, much more needs to be done across the whole health and social care system to ensure that everyone can die with dignity."

Across the country, Marie Curie is introducing innovative models that demonstrate how a national strategy could transform end of life care. For example:

GP and Primary Care innovation in Plymouth: Marie Curie has been working in Estover to ensure people get the end of life care they need in their community by placing a specialist nurse inside local GP surgeries. This helps identify people in the last year of life to ensure they are offered support and advice, such as Advance Care Plans.

Emergency care transformation in Bradford: The Marie Curie Responsive Emergency Assessment and Community Team (REACT) identifies people at the end of life arriving in A&E and helps prevent unnecessary admissions. Patients are supported in transitioning safely to a community-based virtual ward for holistic 72-hour support, reducing hospital stays and improving the experience at the end of life.