Marie Curie responds to programme for Welsh Government and end of life care priority

Dear Editor,

At Marie Curie, we are delighted to see that the manifesto commitment to End of Life Care from the Labour party has been translated into the programme for government announced by the First Minister yesterday (June 15), and is indeed a key priority for Professor Drakeford and his Government.

To see a particular focus on end of life care, and a review of patient pathway planning and hospice funding is encouraging news for the thousands of terminally ill people across Wales and their loved ones, and will hopefully lead to a better end of life for all those finding themselves with a terminal prognosis now and in the future – with better awareness, access and care.

We know development of the new NHS Wales Clinical Framework and End of Life Care Programme, which will be instrumental in delivering these commitments, is underway and we look forward to sharing our expertise with Welsh Government through the End of Life Board and hearing more details about these plans soon.

It is, on the whole, great news for palliative and end of life care services in Wales  – the trick now is to see this translated on the ground, so that people and their loved ones receive the end of life care they want and deserve in their final weeks, months and years.

If any of your readers are currently experiencing terminal illness or issues around death, dying and bereavement, and need a listening ear, they can contact Marie Curie’s Information and Support Line on 0800 090 2309 to speak to a trained officer.

Kind regards

Lowri Griffiths

Head of Policy and Public Affairs – Marie Curie Wales