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By BAE Systems Plc

Charities welcome free end of life care pledge

Age UK

3 min read Partner content

Charities Age UK and Dignity in Dying have welcomed Labour party proposals to fund free 'end of life' social care.

Shadow Health Secretary Andy Burnham said free social care to enable people to die at home instead of in hospital will be provided by the NHS and paid for by moving resources out of hospitals and into communities.

In a in a speech to the Unison conference Mr Burnham said it will propose removing the means test for social care at the end of life as part of the ongoing cross party talks on social care.

"The abolition of means-testing for care would remove the stress and burden of financial pressures on families and open up home-based care to thousands more patients for the first time," he said.

Michelle Mitchell, Age UK's Charity Director General said that while it backs Labour's plans, wider reform is needed.

"Social care is vital in helping people to have a good death," she said.

"Professional carers help a dying person to wash, go to the toilet, eat and most importantly to help them maintain their quality of life while supporting family and friends.

"The majority of people say that they would prefer to die at home, yet around 60% of people die in hospital. Age UK therefore welcomes the Labour party's decision to support free social care for people at the end of life."

Ms Mitchell said politicians from all parties "must demonstrate the courage and conviction to reform and appropriately fund the wider spectrum of social care provision".

She said the Dilnot recommendations create a new blueprint for social care, where individuals can affordably contribute towards their care, while being able to depend upon a system of social care that is fit for purpose and able to support the most vulnerable in society.

Mr Burnham said that the new policy if implemented by a Labour government would "allow families, in those crucial final days and weeks, to focus on each other rather than fighting the system and worrying about finances".

"But beyond that it's Labour's first serious step towards its 'whole person' approach to care. A lack of integration means money isn't always spent in the best way possible.

"By integrating social, mental and physical care systems we can free up resources to meet the demands of the century of the ageing society and improve the care of older people – starting first with those nearing the end of their lives."

The charity Dignity in Dying also welcomed the announcement by Labour.

Spokesman Philip Satherley said:

"Scrapping means-testing would reduce stress for dying patients and allow people to make genuine choices about where they want to die. This is a helpful shift in policy and compliments the recent palliative care funding review which stressed the importance of patient choice and care outside of the hospital setting, as well as being in line with what Dignity in Dying’s members and supporters want.

"We must also ensure that quality of care remains high. Whilst steps must be taken to ensure that terminal patients can die in their preferred place of care, end-of-life care in hospitals must not be overlooked."

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