Hospice and Palliative Care

Liam Conlon Excerpts

Monday 13th January 2025 Commons Chamber

[Liam Conlon (Beckenham and Penge) (Lab)]

I thank the hon. Member for Wimbledon (Mr Kohler) for securing today’s debate.

I am incredibly proud of many things in Beckenham and Penge, but particularly St Christopher’s hospice. It was founded in 1967 by Dame Cicely Saunders, the founder of the global hospice movement. The movement came about because Dame Cicely, a nurse who was researching pain control, believed that more could be done to help people at the end of their life. That included dealing with physical symptoms and tackling the stigma around painkillers, but also the idea that people should be able to achieve emotional closure through individualised care and support.

The assisted dying debate has been mentioned today by Members from across the House. I had over 2,000 constituents contact me about that debate, and there was roughly a 50:50 split between those who supported and opposed the Bill, but every single one of them was united by compassion, and they relayed their experiences of seeing people at the end of their life.

I pay tribute this evening to a woman I was incredibly fortunate to work for in this place, Dame Tessa Jowell. Tessa was a very good friend, a mentor and an amazing boss. Six years ago next week, she made her final speech in Parliament. Tessa was diagnosed with a terminal brain tumour. I was with her from her diagnosis through to writing the press release on the night she died. She finished her speech in the other place by saying:

“In the end, what gives a life meaning is not only how it is lived, but how it draws to a close.”—[Official Report, House of Lords, 25 January 2018; Vol. 788, c. 1170.]

I sincerely believe that.

St Christopher’s hospice gives meaning to life as it draws to a close. It does so by taking a holistic approach; it cares for a patient’s physical, spiritual and psychological wellbeing. I have seen at first hand the intimate bonds and relationships established between staff, volunteers, patients and families. The hospice is one of the largest providers of palliative care education in the world. For all those reasons, we in Beckenham and Penge all support St Christopher’s hospice, which is a huge part of our community. I was fundraising for the hospice long before I became an MP, and I continue to do so.

People help in lots of different ways, and I want to give a special mention to Penge Fest, which is south-east London’s answer to Oktoberfest. Local businesses such as Brewery, the Three Hounds and Designer Drapes, organisations including Friends of Cator Park and Penge business improvement district, and many more came together with local residents for a day of fun and fundraising that included an oompah band. The event brought Penge high street to a standstill last summer. We will continue to fundraise for St Christopher’s hospice, but we should not have to do so to pay for the basics. Supporting our hospices benefits everyone, from the NHS to patients, and that is why I welcome the Government’s announcement, just before Christmas, of an extra £100 million in hospice funding through the extension of children’s hospice grants. That will ease the strain on hospices and benefit patients, as well as the wider health and care systems.

However, hospices still face pressures, including increased demand for services, the rising cost of provision and discrepancies in funding across the country, which many Members have mentioned this evening. That is why, as the Minister recognises, hospices must be a key part of the Government’s plan to shift care into the community, including through the provision of at-home care services. That can ease the acute pressures on the NHS. I invite the Minister to visit St Christopher’s to see its fantastic work for himself, and to discuss the role of hospices in the Government’s commitment to ensuring that every person has access to high-quality end of life care.

I thank the hon. Member for Wimbledon again for securing today’s debate, and the Government for the vital work that they are undertaking on this important issue.