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Publication type: General
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Contents
End of life care is when a person, approaching the end of their life will have a range of needs that can be met by family, friends, health and social care providers.
The London Assembly Health Committee has investigated the quality of care people receive at the end of their life.
Does good end of life care depend on your age, whether you live alone, your diagnosis or economic status?
A number of findings were made:
- Only 8 out of 33 London Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) scored above the national average for end of life care quality indicators.
- Fewer than half of local authorities include end of life care within their Health and Wellbeing Strategies.
- CCGs spend a wide range of money on each death, the least spent £540 per death and the most spent £3,740 per death.
- 70 per cent of hospitals in London cannot provide specialist palliative care services seven days a week.
- 24 per cent of London patients accessing palliative care have a non-cancer diagnosis.
- Around 10 per cent of London households are occupied by a person aged over 65 who lives alone, yet access to services is unequal, with older people, living alone, struggling to access the care they need.
In a letter to the Mayor of London the Health Committee recommended:
- The Mayor should champion the issue of end of life care and more can be done at a local level to improve end of life care across London.
- The Mayor should push all Health and Wellbeing Boards to include end of life care in their Health and Wellbeing Strategies.
- The Greater London Authority (GLA) Health Team should incorporate end of life care into a review of the Health Inequalities Strategy, with a particular focus on ensuring equal access for all in London, regardless of age, background, economic status or diagnosis.
You can download the letter and accompanying digital report below.
Related documents
Letter to the Mayor on end of life care
End of life care - Digital Report
End of life care collated submissions
Response from the Mayor of London