Individuals must be supported to die in their place of choice - McGimpsey

Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, has said that everyone should have the chance to be supported to die in their place of choice.

The Minister was speaking as he launched ‘Living Matters: Dying Matters’ a new Strategy for Palliative and End of Life Care for Northern Ireland. The strategy is designed to ensure that people with palliative and end of life care needs, and their families and carers, are provided with high quality care across all settings and conditions.
Launching the new strategy at a meeting of the Northern Ireland Group of the National Council for Palliative Care, during ‘Dying Matters

Awareness week’, Michael McGimpsey said: “People are living for longer than ever before and, as they cope with the consequences of chronic conditions, demand for palliative care and end of life care needs will continue to rise. I believe that one of the hallmarks of a civilised society is the way in which we look after those who are terminally ill. Good palliative and end of life care is increasingly an essential part of good health and social care.

“This new Strategy, the first of its kind in Northern Ireland, will help those with an advanced, incurable condition live as well as possible through the final stages of their life. As well as a source of advice to individuals and families, it provides a framework of support for professionals who already provide a quality service and want to improve what they do for patients, families and carers.”

Of the 15,000 people who die in Northern Ireland every year, the majority pass away in a hospital setting. Studies show that a majority of people would prefer to die at home. In 2008, Marie Curie Cancer Care research reported that 65% of people questioned stated that they would prefer to be cared for at home if they were terminally ill.

The Minister said that he is committed to ensuring that everyone with palliative and end of life care needs has access to the highest quality care. He said: “Good palliative and end of life care is about providing a continuous, holistic assessment of needs that puts the needs of the patient, their family and carers at the heart of the service.

“We must be able to support those who are dying to have a dignified and peaceful death. Above all, I want to see everyone having the chance to be cared for and to die in their place of choice, and with the appropriate support for their families and carers.”

The Minister continued: “Today also sees the launch of the ‘Pallcareni’ website. This is an important resource for all those involved in providing palliative and end of life care in Northern Ireland as well as for patients and carers.”

Notes to editors:

1. Palliative care is the active, holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness. Management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social and spiritual support is paramount. The goal of palliative care is to achieve the best quality of life for patients and their families. Many aspects of palliative care are also applicable earlier in the course of the illness in conjunction with other treatments (World Health Organisation 2002).
2. The Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy provides a strategic framework for Health and Social Care commissioners and providers, as well as voluntary and non-statutory organisations, as they seek to design and deliver high quality and patient centred palliative and end of life care services for patients, their families and carers.
3. The strategy is part of a framework of developments, including the target set in Priorities for Action that, by 2011, each Trust should have multi-disciplinary palliative care teams and service improvement programmes in place, to support community palliative care models.
4. By 2017, projections for regional population (based on 2006 mid year population estimates) suggest that 310,000 people in NI will be aged 65 and over – 16% of the total population.
5. Approximately 15,000 people die in Northern Ireland every year. The main causes of death are circulatory diseases (35%); cancer related deaths (26%) and respiratory diseases (14%). Of the total, 50% die in hospital; 16% in a nursing home; 4% in a hospice and 30% in an ‘other’ setting (including at home).
6. Dying Matters was established in 2009 by the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) as a broad based and inclusive national coalition of just under 7,000 members, which aims to change public knowledge, attitudes and behaviours towards death, dying and bereavement. It is chaired by Professor Mayur Lakhani who is a practising GP.
7. The website for PallCareNI is http://www.pallcareni.net
8. Media queries to DHSSPS Press Office on 028 9052 0074. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 9971 5440 and your call will be returned.