65 per cent of adults are worried about access to palliative care

A YouGov survey commissioned by the Cicely Saunders Institute found that 65 per cent of people in the UK are worried about getting care at the end of their lives, and 41 per cent think the NHS does not spend enough on this kind of care.

The survey asked 2,164 adults in the UK about what they know and think about palliative and end- of-life care. The results were shared before a UK Parliamentarians’ debate about assisted suicide/ assisted dying.

Results from the survey showed that nearly one in four people (24 per cent) in the UK don’t know much about palliative and end-of-life care, or haven’t heard of it. There are differences in knowledge between white people and people from ethnic minority groups.

Professor Katherine Sleeman, Laing Galazka Professor of Palliative Care at the Cicely Saunders Institute, said:

“The fact that 65 per cent of UK adults say they are worried about access to palliative and end-of-life care should be a wake-up call for current and future governments.

This is especially important given the large increase in palliative care need that is projected over the next decade.

“The shocking gap in the public’s understanding of palliative and end-of-life care also needs to be addressed as the assisted dying debate gathers pace. It is highly concerning that many people believe that palliative care involves giving patients medicines in order to shorten their lives.

Over 100,000 people in the UK die each year needing palliative care but do not receive it, and inequalities in accessing care, including among people from ethnic minority groups, are common. It is essential that we address the disparities that create additional barriers for people to access the care that they need. This includes an urgent need to improve death literacy among the public.”

Dr Sabrina Bajwah, Clinical Senior Lecturer at King’s College London said, “We already know that ethnic minority patients are more likely to experience distress at the end of life.
It is concerning to note that nearly one-third of respondents from ethnic minority groups lack trust in healthcare professionals’ ability to deliver high-quality end-of-life care. With our population becoming increasingly diverse, it is imperative that we promptly address this inequality by enhancing palliative care and end-of-life services to effectively cater to the needs of these patients and their families.”

The survey found that 22 per cent of people from ethnic minority groups haven’t heard of end-of-life care, compared to four per cent of white people.

Also, 18 per cent of people from ethnic minority groups think end-of-life care means giving people medicines to shorten their lives, compared to five per cent of white people.

As UK MPs may debate the issue in the next parliament, experts say it’s very important for people to learn more about palliative and end-of-life care.

The survey also showed that almost one in three people from ethnic minority groups (30 per cent) don’t trust healthcare professionals to give good care at the end of life, compared to 17 per cent of white people.