Ruth Driscoll responds to National Audit Office NHS Report

Ruth Driscoll, Marie Curie's Associate Director Policy & Public Affairs England, said: "This report sadly confirms concerns that Marie Curie has highlighted regarding the postcode lottery of provision and access that people requiring palliative and end of life care experience when they need urgent or out of hours care, which means they have to resort to calling ambulances and long waits at A&E.

"Too often people dying at home are left with no choice but to call an ambulance or rush to their local hospital A&E, especially at nights and weekends. Our Better End of Life Report (2022) identified 1,132,033 visits (England) to A&E in the last 12 months of life, with 650,000 of these made out of hours. Such visits are highly distressing for patients and carers and are very expensive for our health and care system with delays in ambulance transference only compounding the distress.

"Questions need to be asked - why certain areas cope better than others; why there is not more emphasis on community provision; more investment in services such as 24/7 palliative care phone lines and our Rapid Response nursing services which work to keep terminally ill and dying people at home and out of A&E; and what can be done to even out the health inequalities for terminally ill people in deprived areas who have to resort to twice as many Emergency Department attendances."