Terminally ill ‘miss out on care’

TERMINALLY ill hospital patients are missing out on the right care at the end of their lives, it is claimed.

Cancer charity Marie Curie and the University of Glasgow warn that many hospitals are not identifying enough patients who could benefit from palliative care.

In a report, they say many who cannot be cured are denied better planning that could improve the quality of what life they have left and minimise their suffering.

Problems highlighted include knowledge of palliative care among health professionals and difficulties in talking about the subject with patients and their families.

There are also issues in deciding that a patient is incurable and in getting up-todate information from GPs.

The report, Past, Present and Future, states: ‘The challenge is that the expectation of both staff and patients is that hospitals are a place where a person goes to get better.’

It says this often leads to palliative and end of life care being viewed as ‘giving up’.

Marie Curie head of policy and public affairs Scotland, Richard Meade, said: ‘While it’s clear that there are some excellent examples of care across Scottish hospitals, we found a worrying level of inconsistency and gaps in care.’

Professor David Clark, Wellcome Trust investigator at the University of Glasgow, said: ‘Covid-19 has revealed the shocking absence of advance care plans in many cases.’

In 2017/18, 26,917 died in Scottish hospitals – half of all deaths in that period.

A Scottish Government spokesman said end of life care was ‘an important priority’ and the report would help improve it.