Hospices play a major role in ensuring that end of life care in the UK is ranked as the best in the world.

A new study of 80 countries says that thanks to the strong hospice movement and NHS, the care provided in the UK is second to none.

However, the ‘Quality of Death Index” shows there is still room for improvement in some care settings – especially around communication, out-of-hours services and delays in diagnosis.

Trinity is celebrating 30 years on the Fylde Coast and is at the heart of end of life care, not only in the hospice, but out in the wider community. We have been tackling the issues head on, sharing our expertise and determined that everyone in Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre should have choices around their final days.

For example, Hospice at Home, launched a year ago as a pilot service with financial backing from the local CCGs, has had a big impact on local end of life care, enabling more terminally ill people to fulfil their wish to die at home and avoid emergency hospital admissions in the final days of life.

Our Hospice at Home team visits patients at home during the night – the time when families often find it hardest to cope when caring for  a very poorly relative.

Chief Executive David Houston says: “It’s good to see that the UK ranks so high and that the hospice movement is recognised as such a key factor in this, but it is clear, as highlighted in the recent health ombudsman report, that there are still failings in end of life care in other settings, and some very upsetting individual cases where families have been let down.

“We work with the local hospital and with GPs in a bid to ensure that good palliative care is available to all – not only those who come under the direct care of Trinity. Better training in palliative care for hospital doctors and nurses and for GPs is vital if we are to see a turnaround in culture, and hospices have a major role to play in this by sharing their expertise.  

“We want a shift away from a predominately ‘cure and fix’ approach to one which recognises that dying requires a very different type of care, with more emphasis on enhancing an individual’s comfort and quality of life.

“A really good example of this is our Hospice at Home overnight service, which has had a very real impact on hundreds of local families in the past year. So often, with the right support, people can stay in their own home surrounded by family as they approach death. They don’t want to die in hospital.

“Our aim is for everyone to have a choice about where they spend their final days, and of course there is another important benefit: enabling people to stay at home prevents unwanted hospital admissions at a time when the NHS is facing huge financial pressures.”