Toby Perkins – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Toby Perkins on 2016-06-06.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, with reference to the findings of the Royal College of Physicians’ report, End of Life Care Audit: Dying in Hospital, published in March 2015, what steps his Department has taken to improve end-of-life care in the NHS.

Ben Gummer

We are committed to ensuring that everyone at the end of life receives high quality, compassionate care that is tailored to their needs and preferences. The recent Royal College of Physicians’ audit showed steady improvement in the care people are receiving in hospital, but there are also areas where we could do better, including on ensuring round-the-clock access to specialist palliative care in hospitals, on record-keeping, and on involving people and those important to them in decisions about their care.

The Government will shortly publish its response to the independent Review of Choice in End of Life Care which will set out actions to improve quality, choice and personalisation of end of life care, including in hospital settings. We are working with NHS England to ensure the results of the audit inform this process.