Sue Ryder Care calls for action on end of life care

Sue Ryder Care has called on the Government and NHS to strengthen their commitments to improving the provision and equality of access to end of life care

It made the announcement in support of the Commons Public Accounts Committee report on end of life care, released today.

The specialist voluntary provider of palliative and specialised neurological care in the UK, said it agreed with many of the report’s recommendations, including a need to monitor and ensure that the £286 million of public money allocated in line with the Government’s End of Life Care strategy was used appropriately and to best effect.

Paul Woodward, chief executive at Sue Ryder Care, said: “With approximately half a million people dying each year in the UK and a significant amount of those needing specialist palliative care, it is imperative that the additional funding allocated from the Government to improve end of life care is utilised to maximum benefit for the people who need it most.

“A transparent understanding of end of life care services is required, what is actually provided and an appreciation of the true cost of providing such services, will enable commissioners and providers to plan to meet the future needs of communities.”

The report, from the Commons Public Accounts Committee, said there was often no clinical need for people to be in hospital, but sometimes there was no other choice. It also found that co-ordination between health and social care services in relation to end of life care was “generally poor”.

The report said: “Most people express a preference to die at home but 60% die in an acute hospital, even when there is no clinical need for them to be there. People should have the right to die in the place of their choice.”

The group of MPs noted that people who die in hospital are not always treated with dignity and respect, and called for NHS trusts to employ specialist palliative care teams.

The charity said the report’s recommendation to enable people to have the right to die in a place of their choice echoed its own policies and best practice in delivering end of life care.

Nationally, the charity’s Palliative Initiatives in Neurological Care (PINC) programme has assessed the potential of established end of life care tools to improve palliative and end of life care for people with neurological conditions living in residential care. Sue Ryder Care has also developed Hospice at Home Services, a rapid response model and satellite services to improve access to end of life care and support people to die in a place of their choice.

Mr Woodward added: “Sue Ryder Care believes that everyone who needs specialist palliative care, whatever their diagnosis, should receive it to enable them to live their lives to the full, and when the end comes, to die pain free, with dignity and in a place of their choice.

“We’re innovating across the country to find solutions for better end of life care practice, including the development of our PINC programme, Hospice at Home services and rapid response model.”

As a specialist provider of palliative and specialised neurological care, Sue Ryder Care says it understands the frustrations experienced by the people it cares for when they need to access both health and social care.

As such it also welcomes the report’s recommendation that people nearing the end of their life should be allocated a single health or social care professional contact.

Phil Hope, Minister for Care Services said: “People coming to the end of their lives deserve high-quality, compassionate and dignified care, on their own terms.

“Many people receive excellent care at the end of their lives and we are investing a total of £286 million between now and 2011 to make sure we improve end of life care for all adults, regardless of where they live.

“End of life care is a priority in the operating framework for the NHS and guidance issued to Primary Care Trusts has made it clear that we expect the extra funding to be used for end of life care services.

“The NHS locally should have proper monitoring in place to make sure this happens.”

For more information on Sue Ryder Care visit www.suerydercare.org.