The government has set out a 10 Year Plan for Health, demonstrating how it intends to create a health service 'fit for the future'. The Plan talks of improving end of life care and palliative care. Here is our response:
“We welcome the NHS 10 Year Plan’s clear commitment to shifting care closer to home and investing more in community health services. This direction is absolutely right for people approaching the end of life and echoes what Community Hospice have been working to deliver for many years.
"The explicit mention of hospice and palliative care in neighbourhood health teams, as well as focus on personalised care planning at the end of life, increasing the use of personal health budgets and greater support for carers and community teams has the potential to enable our Community Hospice to provide responsive and accessible care for all who need it in our area. We are also pleased to see the emphasis on tackling health inequalities which we know only too well affect end of life experiences, and are working hard to address.
"We look forward to working with our partners to develop a more collaborative and joined up approach to care for local people at the end of life and to ensure that resources are available in the right parts of our system to enable this to happen. This will include investment in community based care delivered by our hospice and by other community services to support the increased need we are all seeing.
"Community Hospice will continue to work with our NHS and local partners to turn these ambitions into reality. With the right investment and a shared commitment to compassionate, personalised care, we can ensure that every person in our community receives the support they need at the end of life.
"We believe that everyone has the right to a good death, regardless of where you live, regardless of your background or circumstances."
We believe that everyone has the right to a good death, regardless of where you live, regardless of your background or circumstances