Each year nearly 11,000 people in Scotland don’t get the palliative care that they need says Marie Curie
Thousands of people in Scotland are missing out on the care they require due to doctors and other healthcare professionals not being adequately trained to spot who needs it, a leading charity has said.
Marie Curie estimates that each year nearly 11,000 people in Scotland don’t get the palliative care that they should.
The charity is calling for healthcare professionals to receive further training to ensure that everyone with a terminal illness gets the palliative care, which focuses on providing relief from pain and other debilitating symptoms and the stress associated with advanced progressive illnesses, they need.
In two new reports launched at the NHS Scotland Event, Triggers for Palliative Care and an accompanying analysis of the implications for Scotland, the charity shows there is limited understanding of what palliative care can do, who it benefits and when to introduce it.
It reveals that professionals often miss the opportunity to consider whether there is a palliative care need.
Many people who could benefit from palliative care earlier in their illness miss out because doctors, patients and their families do not realise when it is needed
Those with heart failure, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, dementia, end stage liver disease, motor neurone disease and conditions such as multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s and stroke are currently less likely to receive palliative care than people with terminal cancer because their illnesses tend to be more unpredictable in their progression than cancer.
In Scotland, 75% of the 54,700 who die each year need palliative care and Marie Curie is calling on the Scottish Government to ensure that everyone who needs it will get it by 2020.
Richard Meade, Marie Curie head of policy and public affairs Scotland, said: “Many people who could benefit from palliative care earlier in their illness miss out because doctors, patients and their families do not realise when it is needed and incorrectly assume it is only for people who are in the final weeks or days of their lives.
“Marie Curie fully supports the Scottish Government’s commitment to publishing a new strategic framework for action for palliative and end of life care in 2015.
“This is an opportunity to set out an ambitious plan to ensure that everyone living with a terminal illness gets the care they need.
“This must include a requirement for all those caring for people with a terminal illness to have the appropriate training and support they need, so people do not miss out.”
The need for more training is reinforced by the findings of a Marie Curie-commissioned survey of 500 UK clinical professionals in which over 39% say that a lack of relevant experience among staff delivering care is a barrier to meeting the needs of terminally ill people and 55% consider better identification of an illness as terminal to be highly important in improving the quality of patient care.
To coincide with the report, Marie Curie has written to NHS medical and nursing directors around the UK, urging them to improve access to palliative care for everyone in the hospitals that they run.
This includes, ensuring that all staff know how to access palliative care teams and that staff, patients and their families are provided with enough information.
Marie Curie is also campaigning for mandatory undergraduate and continuing professional development training for health and social care professionals in providing care to people who are dying.
