Comments on the 10-Year Health Plan from Hospice UK, Dementia UK and Marie Curie

In response to the 10 Year Plan for the NHS in England, Toby Porter, CEO of Hospice UK says: “Hospice UK is pleased to see the 10-year plan for the health service in England recognise the changing needs of communities and the pressures of our ageing population. Demand for palliative and end of life care is increasing, with over 7 million people expected to die over the course of the next 10 years.

“Hospices already practice what good neighbourhood care can look like and the plan rightly identifies them as essential to proposals for integrated neighbourhood teams. They are already out in communities delivering care closer to home, keeping people out of hospital who do not need to be there, and supporting people to die with comfort and dignity. With the right support, there is so much more they can do to realise the vision set out in the 10-year plan.

“But for this to work, we need to see the shift of funding from hospital to community deliver for the hospice sector. With many hospices forced to cut services in the last year and others dangerously close to the brink, it’s clear that the current commissioning arrangements will not be able to deliver the exciting vision set out in today’s plan.

“The next thing we need is wholesale reform of the way hospices are funded so they can be there for every one of the 7 million people who may need their services in the next 10 years.”

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Dementia UK comment on 10-Year Health Plan

The commitment from the Government in the 10-Year Health Plan for England to publish a Modern Service Framework for Dementia and Frailty represents real hope for people living with dementia.

We’re pleased that the Government has considered our input, alongside that of thousands of Dementia UK supporters and people affected by dementia, who have long been making the case for a specific dementia framework for the NHS that recognises its complexity. As the leading clinical support charity for people living with dementia, we will do all we can to ensure that this national framework meets the needs of those who have slipped through cracks in the system for too long.

We are pleased to see some commitment to improving palliative and end of life care in the 10 year plan with a focus on improved integrated community working that includes palliative care professionals. Closer working between community teams, care homes and paramedics – including sharing care plans – could help avoid people being taken to A&E by default when they are at end of life.

However, there is the need to ensure people affected by dementia are informed and involved in planning for their future care needs. That’s why it’s vital that people living with dementia and their families are supported with meaningful advance care planning and have access to dementia specialist support as the condition progresses.

The Neighbourhood Health Service is a key opportunity to get palliative and end of life care right, and Dementia UK is keen to work with the Government to achieve this.

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Marie Curie Responds to NHS 10 Year Plan

Marie Curie Chief Executive, Matthew Reed, said:

“We are pleased to see that the UK Government has placed the needs of patients at the centre of their Plan to reform the NHS in England, making a clear commitment that will help fix the current crisis in palliative and end of life care for local communities, and setting out a clear roadmap for creating an NHS that is fit for the future.

“We look forward to working with them to ensure that the additional £29 billion NHS funding announced in the Spending Review transforms care in the community for people with a terminal illness.

“By working closely together, we can ensure that people dying at home can access coordinated palliative and end of life care, as early as possible, in their local community, instead of ending up in a crisis that requires use of ambulances, A&E, and emergency hospital admissions.

“The Plan outlines a welcome move towards a community-led approach for people in need of palliative and end of life care. To achieve this though, there will need to be a significant shift in current patterns of healthcare spending. In the UK, we currently spend five times as much on hospital care for people in the final year of life as we do on care in the community. We urge all governments across the UK to invest in more integrated care in the community for people with a terminal illness and their families.”

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