The state of end of life care: Building back better after Covid-19

Article

Covid-19 has caused serious disruption to end of life care provision in England. Excess deaths have spiked due to the pandemic, putting more strain on providers. The hospice sector has seen their fundraising disrupted, putting beds and continuity of care at risk.

Place of death has shifted from acute to community settings, without the time for proper proactive planning and resourcing. And the well documented difficulties in social care – where life expectancy of residents is between 12 and
24 months – have impacted wellbeing and quality of life for many at the end of their lives.

We must go further and faster on end of life care in the coming years. This should be based on delivering a managed shift to community-led end of life care. This would not be one size all – rather, it would be about a model led by the community, and through which people receive the specialist and non-specialist services that are right for them.

Our policy recommendations focus on 'providing everyone the right care, from the right person, at the right time'.

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