National End of Life Care Strategy and Cumbria End of Life Strategy
"How people die remains in the memory of those who live on"
Dame Cecily Saunders
In July 2008, the Department of Health in the UK launched the National End of Life Care Strategy, the first comprehensive strategy on End of Life Care in England.
Everyone dies at some stage. Half a million people per year die in England, and this figure is increasing. Not everyone receives excellent care. Only 4% of all deaths are in hospices. Hundreds of thousands of health care workers are involved in end of life care. They are not all trained in this. There are only 5,500 palliative care specialists in England (this includes specialist doctors, nurses, occupational therapists and others). Most people want to die at home but in England as a whole, only about 18% do so, with a further 17% in care homes. Most people die in acute hospitals (58% of all deaths).
The National End of Life Care Strategy looks at ways of improving end of life care in all settings, including ways to allow more people to die at home. Agreed funding increases at PCT level for end of life care are part of the strategy - contact your PCT to contribute to the debate about priorities in your area.
The National strategy can be viewed in the
National Guidelines
section of this website. For an excellent short PowerPoint summary from
Professor Dr Mike Richards, National Cancer Director, see:
http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/Publications PolicyAndGuidance/DH_086277
Click here for Cumbria End of Life Strategy - Word Document
15 December 2008