Dr Sarah Holmes, chief medical officer at Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end of life charity, has urged the Government to act after the NHS faced the “busiest summer in its history”.
She said: “More than 55 per cent of frontline nurses have given end of life care to patients in a corridor or non-designated clinical area according to a recent survey by Marie Curie and Nursing Standard. Stressful for staff and devastating for patients and their families.
“Corridor care is a symptom of a system under immense strain and A&E has become a default for many people at the end of life in moments of crisis when there’s no where else to turn.
“Today’s figures demonstrate the need for the UK Government to publish the long-promised Modern Services Framework for palliative and end of life care this autumn. This new framework must be accompanied by a major delivery effort, and backed with a transformation fund to deliver access to 24/7 palliative care, medication and coordinated support closer to home to reduce the numbers being forced to turn to A&E.
“The Prime Minister has publicly stated palliative care needs fixing; here is his chance.”
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