News / Society

'NHS letting down dying patients'

Wednesday, 20 May 2015 2:17 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 20 May 2015 2:17 PM ]

"Too many people are dying without dignity."

A health commissioner’s report has detailed systematic failings in end-of-life care provisions that have resulted in dying patients being severely let down and distraught.

Julie Mellor’s report has outlined some of the appalling cases where pain and suffering in a person’s final hours could have been reduced or prevented all together.

The Parliamentary and Health Service commissioner have dealt with 265 complaints in the past four years, half of which have been upheld. The government have insisted that end-of-life care is a priority for them.

Commissioner Mellor has been very critical of the care provided to terminally ill patients, saying that some of the cases have been “truly harrowing.”

"Our casework shows that too many people are dying without dignity…our investigations have found that patients have spent their last days in unnecessary pain, people have wrongly been denied their wish to die at home, and that poor communication between NHS staff and families has meant that people were unable to say goodbye to their loved ones."

MacMillan Cancer Support chief executive, Lynda Thomas has slammed the news, saying "the report cites heart-breaking examples of a lack of choice at the end of life that are totally unacceptable.”

“If we are to improve the current situation, we will have to see a dramatic improvement in co-ordination of care, and greater integration of health and social care."

These tragic examples of people’s final moments in life being worsened by poor care and inadequate treatment have angered many people, especially the families of those involved.

A Department of Health spokesman has said that “these are appalling cases - everyone deserves good quality care at the end of their lives…NHS England is working on making these priorities a reality for everyone who needs end-of-life care."

LM/PHX

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