Government targets 10% increase in identifying patients for end-of-life care
The Government is targeting a 10% increase in identifying people nearing end of life to receive palliative care by 2029.
The target comes as part of a new ‘modern service framework’ on palliative and end-of-life care, which the Government has announced will be published in Autumn 2026, having initially planned it for publication in the Spring.
The framework is being ‘developed with over 70 organisations’ including the RCGP.
The number of people identified on the supportive palliative care register in primary care was 0.56% in 2023/24, according to the House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee.
Primary care minister Stephen Kinnock said the aim is for to the target to end the current ‘postcode lottery’ of palliative and end-of-life care in England.
DHSC said: ‘By March 2029, the Government aims to identify 10% more people nearing end of life earlier and cut hospital admissions and stays by 10%.’
It said the framework would attempt to address ‘avoidable hospital admissions, uneven access and quality, workforce shortages, and gaps in out-of-hours care’.
‘Integrated Care Boards will be expected to deliver more consistent, personalised, evidence-based care – including earlier identification of patients, more care closer to home, and stronger community support’, it added.
The state of end of life care in England was a theme in parliamentary debates on the assisted dying bill, which failed to pass into law after running out of time in the House of Lords. MPs and Lords opposing the bill had raised concerns about how it would impact palliative care capacity and argued that funding provision for assisted dying should be spent on improving palliative care services.
Modern service frameworks for other ‘high priority cohorts’ were first announced in NHS England’s medium term planning framework last year.
Frameworks already in development include cardiovascular disease, severe mental illness, sepsis, frailty and dementia, and children and young people.
The frailty modern service framework is being developed in response to an ‘unexplained variation’ in identifying and supporting patients living with frailty which the public spending watchdog reported on last year.
And this week a Public Accounts Committee report said a ‘hyper-focus’ on access was hampering GPs’ ability to offer preventive care for older people.
Mr Kinnock said: ‘At one of the most challenging times in life, patients, their families and loved ones must have access to the right care as soon as possible – minimising distressing delays and focussing on high-quality, compassionate support close to home.
‘At the moment, palliative and end of life care can be a postcode lottery. That is not good enough, so through our landmark framework, which will overhaul the system, we will make sure every patient and family receives the quality care they deserve.
‘Driving this change with clear national targets and new metrics will ensure services are held to account– so gaps in the system are addressed as quickly as possible, and no patient loses precious time to uncertainty.’
Pulse has contacted DHSC and RCGP to comment on GPs’ involvement in meeting the identification target.
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