The Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) has backed calls for immediate and sustainable funding for hospices, warning that pressures on palliative and community services are increasingly being felt across acute hospitals.
SAM president Dr Vicky Price joined MPs, peers and representatives from across the health and care sector this week in delivering a letter to 10 Downing Street calling on the Government to provide long-term support for hospices.
While hospice funding is often discussed in the context of end-of-life care, Dr Price said the consequences extend far beyond hospices themselves.
“Services that help people remain at home, avoid unnecessary admission and receive care in the right setting are a vital part of the wider urgent and emergency care system,” she explained.
“When those services are reduced or become unsustainable, the impact is felt throughout hospitals.
“Patients who could be cared for elsewhere may have no alternative but to attend emergency departments or be admitted to hospital.”
Dr Price said acute medical teams regularly care for patients whose needs would be better met through community, palliative or hospice services if those services had sufficient capacity and support.
“Acute hospitals are not always the right place for patients approaching the end of life, nor are they where many patients would choose to be,” she said.
“Hospices and community-based services play a critical role in supporting patients and families, reducing distress and helping people receive care in the most appropriate environment.”
SAM has previously warned that services designed to prevent hospital admission must be protected, particularly at a time when urgent and emergency care services remain under sustained pressure.
Dr Price added: “There is a tendency to view hospices as separate from the challenges facing hospitals, but they are part of the same system.
“When community and palliative care services are strengthened, patients benefit, families benefit and pressure on hospitals is reduced.
“If we are serious about improving patient flow, reducing overcrowding and ensuring people receive care in the right place, then sustainable funding for hospices must be part of that conversation.”
Photograph left to right: Ian Byrne MP, Dr Vicky Price, Trish Dalby and Corin Dalby (campaigners and co-founders of philanthropic energy consultancy Box Power CIC), Lord Polak, Alison Bennett MP, Baroness Finlay, Rachel Maskell MP.