Hi,


I hope you are well!


I saw your article covering Andy Burnham’s visit to a hospice this weekend – where he donated 15% of his monthly salary: Andy Burnham donates 15% of monthly MP salary to Wigan and Leigh Hospice — Labour Home


As the UK’s leading end of life care charity, we’re really interested in the prime minister’s approach to palliative care funding and his comments that it needs fixing.


While we are neutral on the assisted dying debate, we couldn’t agree more with his comments. Our research shows one in three people die without support at the end of life. As you’ll be aware, the UK Government is developing a landmark Modern Service Framework for Palliative and End of Life Care for England slated for autumn. Successive governments have failed to grasp the nettle, so this is fantastic- but without the funds to back it up it won’t be worth the paper it’s written on.


I was wondering if you would be interested in an opinion piece, written by Dr Sam Royston, Executive Director of Policy and Research at Marie Curie, that explores the prime minister’s visit this weekend, and emphasises the urgent need for more sustainable funding and change in the palliative care sector. For our part, we are also piloting new cost effective approaches within the NHS that are transforming end of life care. Solutions are needed now more than ever as with an ageing population, demand is projected to increase by 23% by 2050.


The piece could cover these key points:

- After Andy Burnham’s visit / donation to the Wigan & Leigh Hospice this weekend, we know he cares about palliative care, but is he going to make it a priority?

- We know the scale of the issue – our research shows that one in three people don’t get the care they need at end of life and in the last year of life people are turning to A&E and the ambulance service when no other help can be found.

- The UK Government is currently developing the first Modern Service Framework for Palliative and End of Life Care for England slated for autumn 2026. This is an opportunity to create real change in the sector if resources are allocated.


Happy to tweak this to suit your audiences but let me know what you think!


Warm wishes,


Elsa