Through The Valley Of The Shadow Of Death

Bob has applied to be a volunteer at our local Hospice. We both believe passionately in the work of the Hospice Movement. Dame Cicely Saunders gave an inspiring address at his college 40 years ago - and we have subsequently been involved with a number of these wonderful places. Part of Bob's training for Pastoral Ministry involved a placement at the hospice in Clapham - and various friends and family members have spent their final days being supported by hospices across the country. Some had help at home, others were given residential hospice places. Most recently, my cousin Gillian was in the St Francis Hospice, Romford.

I was very challenged by an article in the Guardian last Sunday. You probably know that currently, hospice care is free - paid for by "a combination of NHS funding and public donation" [that quote from the NHS website] But more than two thirds of the finance is from donations, the NHS share is around 30%. Furthermore, it is something of a postcode lottery. If you live in a wealthy area, there is likely to be more provision for hospice care. And individual hospices have to negotiate for their share. It is estimated that over 65% of those in need of such support and care fail to receive it due to lack of funding.

There is currently a Health and Care Bill going through Parliament - one which will shape the future of the NHS for the foreseeable future. Baroness Finlay [a crossbench peer, and palliative care specialist] has proposed an amendment to it. She says 

“The government could improve care without increasing overall cost, by explicitly requiring commissioning of specialist palliative services. The bill will launch 42 integrated care systems in England, new geographically defined health and social care partnerships, yet doesn’t mention palliative care.”

Her amendment, due to be debated in March, is that all areas must have multi-professional specialist palliative care services, specified and funded, determined by population needs. It is accompanied by criteria defining what this service does, and that it must be available wherever people are, from their homes to the streets, prisons to hospices, all day, every day. It is supported by many charities for people living with terminal illness including Marie Curie, Sue Ryder, and Hospice UK.

Please read the information on the Marie Curie Website, and if you feel able, sign their petition which asks that provision of end of life care should be fair and accessible to all.