Ruth Driscoll is the Associate Director for Policy and Public Affairs at Marie Curie, the end-of-life charity
As an end-of-life charity, talking about death is our modus operandi. But it remains a taboo topic for many and has never featured prominently in any party manifestos at election time.
Assisted dying has pushed death up the news agenda lately and both Conservatives and Labour have promised to let parliament decide whether this should be legalised. Assisted dying isn’t, however, the only show in town when it comes to death.
We commissioned independent opinion polling to understand the public’s views on palliative and end-of-life care in May of this year. The findings suggest that palliative and end-of-life care could be an unlikely vote winner.
More than two-thirds of people (85 per cent) believe end-of-life care should be a core component of the health and care system. However, only one in three think the government is committed to supporting terminally ill people.
Sentiment in favour of improving end-of-life care was particularly high among people who voted Conservative at the last election and, interestingly, is a key issue for those in Red Wall constituencies.
Our polling found that neither the Conservative Party nor the Prime Minister are currently seen as committed to supporting people nearing the end of their lives.
Instead of running a mile from talking about death, there is an opportunity for politicians of all parties to engage voters on an issue that has been neglected for too long.
The public wants to see a compassionate approach to end-of-life care and more support for people who are nearing the end of their lives. Crucially, voters rejected arguments that those who were dying mattered any less than those who weren’t.
End-of-life care is a challenge that the next government will need to grapple with. Ninety percent of those dying would benefit from palliative and end-of-life care but there are gaps in access to these services. As our population ages and more people live with complex health conditions, the demand for palliative and end-of-life care will only grow, and current gaps could get worse.
If the next government fails to get end-of-life care right, this will result in lower public satisfaction and escalating costs for our NHS. When people cannot get help for pain and other symptoms in their local community, they end up having to visit their local A&E department. This is distressing for them and expensive for the NHS.
Ensuring proper palliative care is available to people dying at home has been shown to reduce pressure on acute NHS services, and reduce hospital bed days and unplanned hospital admissions. Each year, there are over 8 million beddays occupied by people in the last six months of life in England alone. And we estimate the total cost of these admissions is more than £2.9bn.
Talking about death during this election may push people outside their comfort zone but we want politicians to be brave enough to tackle this taboo topic. It is good for dying people, good for the NHS, and could be a vote winner too.
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Author: Ruth Driscoll
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