My View: Palliative Care and the Upcoming Modern Service Framework

Thank you to everyone who contacted me about end-of-life care and the upcoming Modern Service Framework. 

I support our Government’s aims to create a society in which everyone receives high‑quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life. I understand that for some people and their loved ones, an inpatient hospice bed is the right place to be either for complex symptom control or at the end of life, and this can be the right place for a multitude of reasons. But I also know that some people would prefer to be supported in their homes, surrounded by cherished memories, familiar furniture and by their loved ones. In a recent speech at the Hospice UK conference, the Minister for Care stated that his job in Government is to support this wherever possible and confirmed that our Government is, above all else, a patient-centric government with patient choice driving everything they do. 

I am pleased that our Government’s 10 Year Health Plan aims to shift healthcare from hospitals to the community to allow more patients to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting. Palliative and end‑of‑life care services will have a crucial role to play in that shift, and were highlighted in the plan as being an integral part of neighbourhood teams.

I am proud that this Labour Government has provided the biggest funding uplift for hospices in a generation. Hospices provide invaluable care and support when people need it most and this funding boost will ensure they are able to continue delivering exceptional care in better, modernised facilities. The full £125 million funding has now been allocated to 158 hospices across England.

Alongside this, our Government is also developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework (MSF) for England. This will drive improvements in the services that patients and their families receive at the end of life and enable integrated care boards to address challenges in access, quality and sustainability through the delivery of high-quality, personalised care.

I will continue to monitor developments as we work towards a society where everyone who needs it can receive the highest standard of care from the moment of diagnosis to their final days.