Department of Health and Social Care
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Marie Curie empowered to deliver end of life care at a local level
* Department of
Health invests a further £4.5 million in Marie Curie
Hospices
* NHS allocates £15 million in funding for Marie
Curie Nursing Services across the UK
Ahead of the publication of the Government's End of Life Care Strategy, Marie Curie Cancer Care has welcomed a renewed commitment from the Department of Health and the National Health Service to ensuring more terminally ill patients have choice in end of life care.
Ivan Lewis MP, Parliamentary Undersecretary for Care Services has announced an investment of £4.5 million for a new Marie Curie Cancer Care Hospice in Solihull, West Midlands. This follows on from a £10 million capital investment from the Department of Health last year for development and refurbishment work in Marie Curie hospices in North London and Birmingham.
The state of the art Hospice being built in Birmingham will cost an estimated £22 million and the Government is giving another £4.5 million to this today which includes £0.5 million revenue funding for the further development of the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme.
This announcement comes as Marie Curie Cancer Care celebrates its 60th anniversary with the news of a major increase in NHS commissioning of its nursing services(1).
NHS trusts across the UK will invest an extra £3.8 million in Marie Curie Nursing Services this year, giving more than 21,500 terminally ill people the choice to die at home, surrounded by their loved ones. The NHS has increased its contribution by 34%, from £11,209,607 in 2007/08 to £15,038,000 in 2008/09.
This news follows the publication last week of Lord Darzi's Next Stage Review, which for the first time recognises end of life care as a priority.
Ivan Lewis MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services said:
"People coming to the end of their life and their loved ones deserve high quality support which puts compassionate, dignity and respect at its heart.
"Marie Curie has an excellent track record in providing quality care and is pioneering new ways of working which put the needs of patients and families first.
I am delighted to announce this significant new funding, which will bring the new state of the art hospice in the West Midlands a step closer and support their innovative Delivering Choice Programme."
Thomas Hughes-Hallett, Marie Curie Cancer Care's Chief Executive, said "Marie Curie Cancer Care is encouraged to see end of life care being given the recognition it deserves. Most people want to die at home and Marie Curie Cancer Care has demonstrated, through the Delivering Choice Programme, that it is possible to double the number of people supported to spend their final days at home - at no extra cost to the government.
"We look forward to the End of Life Care Strategy containing firm recommendations for the NHS locally to continue to increase expenditure and develop strategies for delivering end of life care to those who need it. We hope to work with the NHS region by region to ensure that more people have a choice in end of life care."
Hugh Grant, Marie Curie Cancer Care ambassador said: "I'm so pleased to see end of life care becoming a real government priority. When my mother died of cancer she was very keen - as most people are - to spend her last days peacefully at home. Marie Curie made this possible, and I've been a huge fan of theirs ever since. The more people who are able to benefit from their extraordinary work the better, which is why this move by the Department of Health is such good news."
The largest increase in commissioning of Marie Curie Nursing Services can be seen in the following areas:
Trust County Growth from
07/08 to 08/09
NHS Norfolk Norfolk £339,384
Ealing PCT Greater London £312,977
Carmarthenshire LHB Carmarthenshire £290,812
Great Yarmouth & Waveney PCT Norfolk £279,286
NHS Lanarkshire Lanarkshire £277,873
Bolton PCT Greater Manchester £240,009
Coventry PCT West Midlands £235,056
Nottinghamshire County PCT Nottinghamshire £222,933
Birmingham East & North PCT West Midlands £212,339
Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Cornwall & Isles of £188,483
PCT Scilly
A breakdown of the UK's commissioning of these services is as follows:
Country Growth from 07/08 to 08/09
England £2,679,875
Northern Ireland £287,129
Scotland £612,543
Wales £248,846
For more information, please visit http://www.mariecurie.org.uk
ENDS
For further information and images from the press conference or to speak to a case study/Marie Curie Nurse:
Marie Curie Public Relations
Alex Holdaway, Head of Public
Relations 07884 311 035 or alex.holdaway@mariecurie.org.uk or
Annette Richardson, Public Relations Manager, 020 7599 7292 or annette.richardson@mariecurie.org.uk
Case studies
Fiona Pain didn't know about Marie Curie
Nurses until she heard Hugh Grant being interviewed on BBC Radio
Five Live in February - the interview came at the right time. Her
friend Paul (51) was dying from cancer. After hearing the
interview Fiona was able to get a Marie Curie Nurse for Paul and
he died peacefully at home with his wife Maria and their three
children. Subsequently Fiona's father also died of cancer and
was cared for by a Marie Curie Nurse.
Gloria Wilson
Gloria Wilson (67) from Sheffield has
experienced the Marie Curie Nursing Service on two occasions in
her life. Her daughter Liz, aged 30, died from a brain tumour 10
years ago and was cared for by Marie Curie Nurses at home. Liz was
married and had two children aged two and four at the time. Then a
double blow came in 2007 when Gloria's brother Paul, was
diagnosed with cancer. He died in April 2008 of a brain tumour and
was also looked after by Marie Curie Nurses at home.
Gloria is passionate about the fact that both her daughter and brother had a 'good death' and were able to die at home, surrounded by her family, with the support of Marie Curie Nurses.
Caroline Ratcliffe (in her own words)
My Dad, Malcolm, was
diagnosed with terminal cancer at the end of March 2006 and died
on April 24, less than a month later.
After the diagnosis, one of the things Dad wanted was to be at home with his family and friends, which was great while he was still able to be himself.
When the doctor explained that Dad was unlikely to survive for much longer, she put us in touch with a Marie Curie Nurse. At 7.00 pm each evening Claire, our Marie Curie Nurse, would arrive and the first thing she would do was to have a chat and ask us how the day had gone. Claire encouraged us to ask questions, even those you don't think you should ask, and she answered them with great dignity and compassion.
Claire would then go to chat to Dad. She checked his medication, made sure he was comfortable and then sat up all night, checking Dad periodically through the night. Claire treated Dad with the utmost dignity and respect at all times. My step mum, Tina, was able to stay with Dad each night, which was great comfort for them both.
Dad was determined to stay with us for as long as possible, although he was very weak, and Clare stayed with us until Dad passed away five days later.
Claire gave Tina and myself the rest that we needed to care for Dad during the last few days of his life. She reassured us and comforted us when it became difficult. We will be eternally grateful for the help of Claire, our Marie Curie Nurse.
Notes to editors
(1) Marie Curie Cancer Care hosted a press conference to announce a major increase in the commissioning of its services at an event at Regent's College, Regent's Park on Monday July 7. The event was attended by Marie Curie Cancer Care ambassador, Hugh Grant, National Cancer Director Professor Mike Richards and Ivan Lewis MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services.
Marie Curie Cancer Care increased the commissioning of its
services by:
1. Demonstrating, through the Delivering Choice
Programme, that the charity can double the number of people
supported to die at home, at no extra cost to the
government
2. Removing the price differential for cancer
versus non cancer patients, so nursing services can be provided to
all terminally ill patients
3. Developing a commissioning
toolkit, so commissioners can now see the detail of where their
patients die and which level of service they need to commission to
allow people to die where they choose
Marie Curie Cancer Care
Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the
UK's largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses,
doctors and other healthcare professionals, it expects to provide
care to around 27,000 terminally ill patients in the community and
in its 10 hospices this year and is the largest provider of
hospice beds outside the NHS.
Funding
Marie Curie Cancer Care's services are provided
totally free of charge to the patient, two thirds of the costs are
paid for through the £115 million we need to raise this year and a
third is covered by our partners in the NHS across the country.
Marie Curie Nurses
The charity is best known for its network
of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide
end-of-life care, totally free for patients in their own homes.
They work typically 9 hour shifts usually at night but now also
during the day and twilight hours to suit individual
families' needs.
Research
The charity has two centres for palliative care
research, The Marie Curie Palliative Care Unit in London and The
Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute in Liverpool. It also runs
the world-renowned Marie Curie Research Institute, which
investigates the causes and treatments of cancer.
Campaigning
Supporting the choice to die at home
Research from the
charity shows around that two thirds (65%) of people would want to
be cared for at home if they were terminally ill, with a sizeable
minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent
of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say
they would least like to be. Since 2004 Marie Curie Cancer Care
has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the
choice to be cared for and die at home.
Delivering Choice Programme
In 2004 Marie Curie Cancer Care
launched its first major palliative care service improvement plan,
the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme, to provide greater
choice for patients in end of life care. The programme has six
projects underway across the UK - in Lincolnshire, Leeds, Tayside
(Scotland), Barnet (north London), south-east London and Somerset.
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