Parliament told to defend the dying's right to round the clock care

Around-the-clock palliative care is a dying person’s right which parliament must defend says the Marie Curie charity, ahead of a debate on the Access to Palliative Care Bill.

The charity has called for ‘parliamentary time and attention’ to address palliative care before the debate of the Access to Palliative Care Bill which would give people the right to 24/7 end-of-life care, regardless of where they live.

Currently, only 21 per cent of hospital trusts in England are providing face-to-face services from 9am-5pm, seven days a week but the charity’s own Ipsos MORI poll of more than 2,000 people reveals that 81 per cent think the terminally-ill should get palliative care every day. The private member’s bill, introduced by Baroness Finlay of Llandaff, has its second reading in the House of Lords on October 23.

It places a duty on all clinical commissioning groups in England to support those needing palliative care by giving them access to pain and symptom control around the clock.

The bill also calls for 24/7 specialist consultant cover and improved education and training of staff and research into palliative care.

The private members’ bill, follows the Assisted Dying Bill, which was rejected by the House of Commons in September.

Dr Jane Collins, chief executive of Marie Curie, said: “While the odds are stacked against private members’ bills becoming law, improving access to high quality palliative care deserves parliamentary time and attention.”

The charity’s Palliative Care Survey, reveals that 87 per cent of those polled, agree that the dying should have the right to medication for pain control around the clock and 85 per cent believe the terminally ill should get support at home if that is where they want care.

Dr Collins said: “It is clear that the care and support that people with a terminal illness can expect as they approach the end of their life is something we as a nation feel passionately about.”

The UK has been ranked first in the world in the 2015 Quality of Death Index compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit, which measured the quality of palliative care in 80 countries around the world.

Meanwhile 110,000 people in the UK miss out on the palliative care they need, which equates to around one in five deaths, mostly of those with non-cancer diagnoses or those over the age of 85.

Dr Collins added: “While the recent Economist report rated the UK as the world leader in palliative care, we can’t hide from the truth that too many vulnerable people miss out on that excellent care.

"Limited availability of palliative care for people who are terminally ill is nothing to be proud of.”