Press Release

Statement following today’s release of initial results from Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme

22.11.07

Help the Hospices, the hospice movement’s national charity, welcomed the release today (Thursday November 22nd) of initial results from the Marie Curie Delivering Choice programme in Boston, Lincolnshire which doubled the number of people who were able to die at home.

Hospices, which are mainly independent local charities, are amongst the key providers of end of life care in the UK and two local hospices helped to deliver the programme in Lincolnshire.

As well as providing day care and in-patient wards with beds, many hospices provide homecare services delivering care to people in their own homes and preventing hospital re-admissions. Many patients use all three kinds of care at different times depending on their needs and preferences at the time.

Rowena Dean, Trustee of Help the Hospices and Chief Executive of Iain Rennie Hospice at Home commented:

“If costs can be reduced and more people are able to end their lives in the place of their choice, this has to be a good thing and we strongly support it. 

At our standalone hospice at home service we support 850 patients in their own home 70% of whom are able to die at home. The key to our success is 24 hour a day, seven days a week support. Home care is very important and for some families and individuals it’s by far the best option, however, it’s important to remember that just as a home birth won’t end up being right in every case, the same applies at the end of life.

The most important thing is that people have a choice in their place of care, that they are supported in that choice and that the range of different kinds of care is adequately funded, co-ordinated and supported.” 

The Government is due to publish the first End of Life Care Strategy for adults in England next summer.  Help the Hospices has submitted its recommendations to the Government.These include the need for better co-ordination and stronger local partnerships for palliative and end of life care, 24 hour services, access to hospice-led advice, and greater service consistency across the country.  The charity recommends that the Strategy should take a flexible approach to the most appropriate local service models and calls for Primary Care Trust to work with other organisations, including social care and voluntary sector services, to analyse local needs ahead of defining services and levels of local service provision.

• Copyright 2008 Dod's Parliamentary Communications Ltd
• About ePolitix.com
• Stakeholders
• Contacts
• Terms & Conditions
• Blog guidelines