In a report published this week, the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) calls for more open discussion on dying and death and greater accountability when end of life care falls below acceptable standards.

‘No Dress Rehearsals’, examines how end of life care is measuring up three years on from the publication of the government’s End of Life Care Strategy. The report finds that, despite many examples of excellent care, there remain serious cases of neglect and ill-treatment. Furthermore, many people are not getting their end of life wishes met.

Simon Chapman, Director of Policy and Public Affairs for the National Council for Palliative Care, commented:

“Every minute in the UK someone dies, but too many people still do not get the end of life care they need and want.

“We only get one chance to get it right for people who are dying, which is why it is a tragedy when the quality of care provided is unacceptable. As a matter of urgency we need a new deal for people who are dying, with more open discussion, better scrutiny of end of life care services and round the clock support available for those who need it.”

The NCPC is calling for four key priorities to be taken forward:

• Making it easier for people to receive end of life care and to die where they want by shifting investment to community-based services.
• Making end of life care training a core part of the curriculum for all health and social care staff.
• Better national and local leadership with better scrutiny of services and signing up end of life care champions throughout the country.
• Making it easier to hold discussions about what we want at the end of life, using the work of the Dying Matters Coalition to raise public awareness and to make dying well a key priority.

More information on ‘No Dress Rehearsals’ is available here.