A host of household names have called on the Prime Minister to act on his conviction that end-of-life care funding needs fixing.
Among those speaking, Sir Michael Palin, Chris Kamara MBE and Alison Steadman OBE paid tribute to the work of the cancer charity Marie Curie in caring for their loved ones in the last days of their lives.
In July, Andy Burnham told Sky News that he believes palliative and social care funding should be prioritised over debates on whether to legalise assisted suicide.
Transformative action
Sir Michael Palin said his wife was “given the chance to have a calm and dignified end to her life” through hospice care. He added: “Everyone should have access to the care they need and deserve.”
Recalling how his mum “died supported, with the right medication and the specialised care for someone who was dying”, Chris Kamara urged the Prime Minister to fix palliative care.
Marie Curie ambassador Alison Steadman commented: “Like my mum, everyone deserves a good death. High-quality end of life care should be available for everyone, not a ‘nice to have’ if you are lucky.”
The charity’s Chief Executive Matthew Reed pointed to “gaping holes in end-of-life care in the UK” and urged the governments of all four nations “to take heed and take action”.
Real choice
Writing in The Times in July, former Scottish Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said that “no assisted dying should be available while the hospice sector remains so scandalously underfunded, leaving people facing death with little real choice”.
“Telling patients they are free to choose death while failing to guarantee basics such as care, housing and mental health support is not progress.”
She added that “there is much be done to improve the lives of British people, not least the sick and vulnerable”.
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