Access to Palliative Care Bill [HL]

Baroness Byford Excerpts

Friday 23rd October 2015 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Byford (Con)]

My Lords, I welcome the opportunity to speak in this Second Reading debate, so ably moved by the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, which deals with the whole question of palliative care. Looking down the list of noble Lords taking part, I am again reminded of the depth of knowledge in this House on this and so many other subjects. My contribution will reflect on current healthcare provision that I and my family received some two years ago when my husband was taken ill. Where it was due, and in fairness, I give great credit to the service that we received, but I question, as others have and will continue to do, why you get a good experience in one place and a poor one in another one.

The noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, has given us detailed proposals to improve the current position and to stop failures. Clause 1 sets out to ensure that health and social care providers provide appropriate support to people with palliative care needs, including,

“access to pain and symptom control … support to meet their preferences in care”,

and “information regarding their condition”. I would add to that the importance of making sure that those family members involved in caring fully understand and are kept in the loop at all times, as they are the ones coping. It is an overwhelming experience to be told there is nothing more that can be done and that the end of life is drawing near.

We were lucky enough to receive great kindness from the Leicester Royal Infirmary. Doctors and nursing staff were available to give us time to talk through our options, and when the final decision was reached, my husband decided that he would like to return home to die there rather than go into a hospice. The Macmillan nurses put in a practical plan, and it happened very quickly. Two days later, my husband came back home with all the supplies that we needed and the team of carers arranged. I know from that experience how well co-ordinated our support was, but I am also too well aware that not everyone has the same experience.

In Clause 2(2)(h), the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, wishes to,

“enable healthcare professionals to access essential medication at all times for palliative care patients being cared for in their own homes”.

Again, I cannot state how important this is. No one should be left in dreadful pain when medicines are available to ease their discomfort. The one thing that helped us as a family to see my husband’s fight against bowel cancer was the knowledge that pain could be relieved. Surely, quality of life at the end of life, and dignity in dying, is something to which we all aspire. The Bill calls for advancing education, training and research into palliative care, which is dealt with clearly in Clauses 3(1)(a) to 3(1)(d). My earlier observations reinforce the advantages that having good clinical communications and skills benefits both the patient and those caring for them.

I could not speak yesterday, as I was attending yet another friend’s funeral. I pay tribute to the work done in our care homes and, particularly, in the hospice movement. In Leicestershire we have a long-standing hospice, LOROS, and a newer one, Rainbows, which specialises in helping families with young children. Nor would I want this opportunity to go by without thanking most sincerely the Macmillan and Marie Curie nurses for the wonderful support that we had. I add to that the important link with the district nurses, who have not yet been mentioned, but may well be later. They were available 24 hours a day and always said to me, “If in the night your husband really is in trouble, pick up that phone and ring us”. So we had someone, and I wonder how many others did.

As has been said, about 350,000 deaths are expected each year, of which about 170,000 will require specialist palliative care. Some of those are young at heart, others are young children. All should have respect in the way that we deal with them in future. In yesterday’s debate, the Minister concluded that the Government were building with reference to their wish to give more control over healthcare services. The Bill of the noble Baroness, Lady Finlay, gives practical ways in which improvements could be achieved, and I am very happy to support it and wish her well.