Barbara Keeley, MP for Worsley and Eccles South, has criticised Conservative Ministers for failing to take action to improve End of Life Care.
Speaking during a debate in Parliament Barbara repeated calls for the Conservative Government to take action to improve end of life care. The Government is yet to respond to an independent review that was published 12 months ago outlining a number of measures to improve end of life care. During this time the End of Life Care Coalition estimates that 48,000 people have experienced poor end of life care.
Barbara also called on the Government to implement free social care for people at the end of their life. She spoke about the impact that the lack of proper Government investment in community services and specialist palliative care services was having on end of life care services. In the last Parliament the number of district nurses decreased by 2,400 and many other community nursing posts were cut.
Barbara said:
“Locally we have the excellent St Ann’s Hospice in Little Hulton and Salford Royal, which is one of the best hospitals in the country. However, I have dealt with cases where end of life care has not been delivered as it should have been, leaving bereaved family members distressed. When end of life care is delivered well, the benefits to the patient and the family are immeasurable, when it is delivered badly it can cause considerable pain and heartache.
“Conservative Government cuts to funding for end of life care services and staffing are impacting the services that people nearing the end of their life receive. Investment in those services is essential to ensure that they are coordinated and that people receive the correct care wherever they are. The Government’s failure to outline a plan of action to improve end of life care is letting down people at the end of their lives.
“We need good quality, compassionate end of life care to be available for everyone who needs it so that each person nearing the end of life can feel supported and safe in the knowledge that they will receive the very best of care.”
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