Major palliative care funding review published

A team from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's College London, partnered with South West Public Health Observatory and Whole Systems Partnership, has made a major contribution to the Palliative Care Funding Review for England, published today (1 July). The review has recommended to Government the introduction of the first ever per-patient funding structure for palliative care in England which could save the NHS up to £180 million a year. The review has also found that of the 457,000 people a year who need palliative care, around 92,000 have none at all, and those that do have access to variable packages of care. If the report's recommendations are implemented, this could also lead to 60,000 fewer hospital deaths by 2021, palliative care for everyone who needs it, and better outcomes for all patients at the end of life. King's contribution to the review specifically outlined the benefit to patients and families of palliative care assessment and intervention, and the cost-effectiveness of this approach for the NHS. The researchers proposed a potential per-patient funding system, based on the complexity of individual patient needs (a 'complexity profile'), which could be developed to help reduce current inequities. Professor Irene Higginson, from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King's, said: 'We very much welcome the recommendation for a funding system based on individual needs and a complexity profile for each patient.