Department of Health and Social Care
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Good progress on end of life care but more to be done
Good progress has been made in improving end of life care, but more needs to be done to make sure everyone gets the highest quality of care, in the setting of their choice.
That is the conclusion of Care Services Minister Paul Burstow as he received the Second Annual Report on the End of Life Care Strategy published today.
Key areas of progress highlighted in the report include:
the allocation of a £40 million capital grant for hospices to allow them to improve the environment in which they provide care; the launch of e-learning on end of life care for health and social care staff; the launch of the Dying Matters Coalition to raise public awareness of issues around death, dying and bereavement; the establishment of end of life care locality register pilots to improve co-ordination of care;the pilot project to inform a national survey of bereaved relatives (VOICES) which will be launched this summer; andthe launch of the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network.
Care Services Minister Paul Burstow said:
“We need to ensure that the care people receive at the end of life is compassionate, appropriate and gives people choices in where they die and how they are cared for. Identifying people approaching the end of life and planning properly with them for their care is an essential part of this.
“While there has been good progress made so far this year the variation in progress across the country means the NHS must redouble its efforts. That is why more work will be done to improve training, promote best practice and make sure good end of life care is embedded across the NHS.
“On the key issue of funding the Coalition was quick to commission work and I am looking forward to receiving Thomas Hughes Hallett’s recommendations.
“We have set out our commitment in the recent White Paper to support people’s preferences about their care. By introducing a choice offer I am determined to increase the pace of change and improvement to begin to make this a choice reality.”
Further action in the coming year will include:
The National End of Life Care Programme will do more work on when the end of life pathway should start for people with progressive disease, focussing on individuals with COPD/respiratory disease and neurological conditions. The Cancer Survivorship programme will address the same question for cancer patients.The Department will continue work on ‘locality registers’ – information portals about the end of life care being provided to patients in a given area, so that essential information can be shared more easily between agencies.The Department will complete the three foundation projects on e-learning, core competences and communication skills training to develop and support staff.The National End of Life Care Intelligence Network will identify and share valuable evidence and information to assist in the improvement of services. The National Programme will also implement its communications strategy on end of life care.
Chairman of the End of Life Care Implementation Advisory Board, Thomas Hughes-Hallett said:
“I am pleased to endorse the second Annual Report. We are making progress but we still have a long way to go. The report highlights the variation in equity and provision of end of life care services across the country. With changes afoot, it must be possible, even in this challenging economic climate, to ensure that people at the end of life to get the high quality care and support they need in the place of their choice.”
Professor Mike Richards, National Clinical Director for End of Life Care, said:
“This report shows that there is a growing momentum for the End of Life Care Strategy. We have established key elements such as the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network, which will be hugely helpful to commissioners and providers to show them how they compare, and where they need to improve. End of life is the final health outcome for all of us, so it’s crucial that we get it right.”
The report also estimates that the NHS, Department of Health and the National End of Life Care Programme spent about £87.5 million of new money on end of life care in 2009/10.
Sixty per cent of new NHS expenditure went on voluntary hospices, care homes, specialist palliative care teams and specialist palliative care resources, with the rest being spent on such as training, palliative care transport and rapid response teams.
Notes to Editors
1. The second Annual Report on the Department of Health’s End of Life Care Strategy can be found at
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_118810
2. About 500,000 people die each year in England.
3. At present, around 55 per cent of deaths occur in hospital, around 20 per cent at home, around 16 per cent in care homes (which for many is their home) and around 5 per cent in hospices.
4. Surveys of the public have shown that the first preference for most people (56-74 per cent) would be able to die at home.
5. The End of Life Care Strategy aims to improve care for people approaching the end of life whatever their diagnosis and wherever they are, including enabling more people to be cared for and die at home if they wish. It covers all adults in England with advanced, progressive illness and care given in all settings.
6. In particular it aims to change people’s attitudes towards
discussion of death and dying so that they are more comfortable
with expressing their wishes and preferences for care at the end
of life. The strategy also aims to support the development of
services in the community so that people can choose to die at home
if that is their preference.
7. For more information or media queries please contact the
Department of Health press office on: 0207 210 5221
Contacts:
Department of Health
Phone: 020 7210 5221
NDS.DH@coi.gsi.gov.uk
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