Almost One in Three Adults in Wales Do Not Have The Palliative Care They Need
Palliative care in Wales is broken, says a leading end of life charity, as almost one in three adults in Wales have unmet palliative care need, meaning they are left without enough support at the end of life.
New figures published by Marie Curie suggest that there are more than 10,000 adults across Wales whose symptoms aren’t addressed and who do not have enough support from their GP.
These figures are further evidence that our palliative and end of life care system is at breaking point.
Currently, of every emergency department attendance in Wales 1 in 14 is in relation to someone who is in their last year of life. We also know that in 2023 almost a fifth of hospital beds in Wales were occupied every day by people in their last 12 months of life.
Potentially avoidable hospital admissions are placing pressure on acute care and preventing people from spending their final months at or closer to home, if that is their preference.
Demand for palliative care is increasing. Marie Curie estimates that by the 2040s, 37,000 people in Wales will likely need palliative and end of life care each year.
Based on this latest analysis, it is estimated that without additional intervention around 1,500 more people are likely to face unmet palliative care need in 2050, compared to 2025. An increase of 14%.
Urgent action is needed to transform end of life care to ensure that people living with a terminal illness, both now and in the future, have access to the care and support they need.
Marie Curie Cymru has set out a comprehensive programme of policy change in its manifesto At breaking point: Time to transform end of life care in Wales.
It provides a roadmap for the incoming Welsh Government in May to ensure that services are responsive to people’s needs, that palliative care is sustainably funded and to strengthen out of hours and community care, so people have 24/7 access to care and support at or close to home.
Marie Curie Senior Policy Manager Natasha Davies, said: “It’s simply unacceptable that so many people are being left without the care and support they need at the end of life. Too many people are spending their days isolated, in pain and struggling to make ends meet. Carers are being left abandoned without support, and services and staff are struggling to deliver the care people need, where and then they need it. Change is urgently needed.
“Transforming end of life care means making sure that everyone can access the care they need in the right place, at the right time. It means taking a system-wide approach that fully integrates palliative and end of life care into health and social care, and ensuring people have access to advice, support and care 24/7.
“Placing palliative care nurses in each primary care cluster, integrating palliative care paramedics into specialist palliative care teams and providing a 24/7 single point of access for advice and information via 111, staffed by clinically trained palliative care staff, would significantly improve access to services and care coordination.
“We cannot afford to waste time getting this right. The next Welsh Government must show strong leadership and commit to the bold, radical actions that are needed to truly transform end of life care.
“People can add their voices to our calls for change by signing our open letter, which will be sent to the First Minister after May’s election, and makes clear the need to turn warm words into action.”
