Major Marie Curie survey finds ‘patchy and inconsistent’ palliative care across country with people dying in pain

In total, almost six per cent of the respondents were from Yorkshire and the Humber.

Almost half of survey respondents said they were unhappy with at least one aspect of the care the dying person received and, of those, one in eight made a formal complaint.

Marie Curie chief executive Matthew Reed said the findings from the 2023 survey show that “care for dying people is in crisis”.

The research, which also involved King’s College London and the University of Cambridge, found that one in five dying people had no contact with their GP in the last three months of life.

Marie Curie said GP and district nursing services are stretched beyond capacity, with Mr Reed adding that while these patients “should be able to have the very best possible” care, they are often instead “struggling even to get an appointment to be seen”.

Almost half those surveyed said their dying loved one visited A&E at least once in their final three months of life, and one in eight people who died in hospital had been there less than 24 hours.

Marie Curie said this is evidence that “too many people who are close to death end up in a busy A&E, because there isn’t access to proper care at home or in a care home”.

The charity has previously predicted that by 2048 there will be an additional 147,000 people in the UK who need palliative care before they die.

Palliative care is described by the NHS as care which makes someone who has an illness that cannot be cured as comfortable as possible by managing their pain and other distressing symptoms.

Mike Padgham, chair of the York and North Yorkshire organisation, The Independent Care Group, said these problems were symptomatic of a deepening crisis that is paralysing many aspects of care.

He told the Yorkshire Post: “After 30 years of cuts to our sector, it is inevitable that the cracks will show for people who, at this time in their lives, should be receiving the very best of care.

“Care and nursing homes and those looking after people in their own homes do an amazing job and, despite ever-dwindling resources, try to provide the best, most sensitive and respectful end-of-life care they can deliver.

“But a shortage of 131,000 staff in the sector is bound to have an impact upon end-of-life care as it does across the rest of the sector’s services.

“Successive governments have failed to address the issue and sadly we are seeing the results as people do not get the care they need, when and where they need it most.”

Professor Katherine Sleeman, lead researcher from KCL, said: “This study reveals patchy and inconsistent provision of care for people approaching the end of life.

“While there were examples of excellent care – including in the community, in care homes, and in hospitals – the overall picture is of services that are overstretched, and of health and care staff lacking the time they need to consistently provide high-quality care.”

While the research did not study specific regional differences, numerous studies have found the north-south divide promotes health inequalities.

There is a two-year difference in average life expectancy between the northern regions and the rest of England, while premature death rates are now 20 per cent higher for those living in the North.

Marie Curie said all governments across the four nations of the UK should “guarantee access to high-quality palliative and end of life care in all settings, whether hospital, home, care homes or hospice” to prevent people suffering unnecessary pain in their final weeks.

Mr Reed said: “We are shocked to see this clear evidence of dying people struggling with pain and other symptoms because they cannot access the end of life care they need from overstretched GPs, district nurses and other health workers. There are no two ways about it, care for dying people is in crisis.

“People at the end of life should be able to have the very best possible palliative and end of life care and instead they are struggling even to get an appointment to be seen.

“The inevitable consequence of this is people dying in distress and alone at home, in care homes, and in hospitals. It isn’t good enough. The UK and Welsh Governments urgently need to fix end of life care.”

The government has been contacted for comment.