The King’s Fund Response To End Of Life Care Strategy, UK
July 20th, 2008 | by admin |Welcoming the publication of the government’s End of Life Care Strategy today, The King’s Fund’s chief executive Niall Dickson said:
‘For too long our healthcare system has not done nearly enough to ensure that care at the end of life is the best it can be. Too many patients have been denied choice, pain has not be well controlled and relatives have been marginalised.
‘We know that the vast majority of patients want to die at home yet we have not developed the services to enable this to happen. This strategy is a wake up call - if it is heard we can create a set of services that provide choice and a better quality of care to those approaching the end of life.
‘The extra resources are extremely welcome and so is the emphasis on developing new services and learning how they work. The creation of an Intelligence Network is a sensible response to the challenge of developing evidence based practice in this complex area of care.
‘If this strategy is to make a difference though it will need a change in attitudes and priorities - patients should be able to feel comfortable talking openly about how they would like their lives to end both with their families and those providing their care.’
The King’s Fund seeks to understand how the health system in England can be improved. Using that insight, we help shape policy, transform services and bring about behaviour change. Our work includes research, analysis, developing leaders and improving services. We also offer a wide range of resources to help everyone working in health share knowledge, learning and ideas.
An evaluation by The King’s Fund of the Marie Curie Delivering Choice programme earlier this year found that it represented a cost effective model of care which presented no additional costs to the NHS and therefore made choosing to die at home a real option for dying patients.
The End of Life Care Strategy also makes reference to The King’s Fund’s work on the Enhancing the Healing Environment programme which aims to physically improve the environment for those who are dying and their relatives. Find out more about the programme on our webiste.
The King’s Fund
http://www.kingsfund.org.uk
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