Palliative Care

Mary Glindon Excerpts

Thursday 5th March 2026 Commons Chamber

[Mary Glindon (Newcastle upon Tyne East and Wallsend) (Lab)]

I am very sorry to hear about the mother of my hon. Friend the Member for Worcester (Tom Collins).

This is a topic of deep personal importance to me, to many of us in the Chamber and to many of our constituents, but it took a private Member’s Bill on assisted dying to bring the debate on palliative care into the foreground. I am relieved that the subject is now getting the attention that it deserves, but this has been needed for far too long.

Let me take this opportunity to commend in the strongest possible terms my hon. Friend the Member for York Central (Rachael Maskell). She rose to meet the challenge and convened the brightest minds in their respective fields to think about how palliative care could be done differently; I thank her. To say that was a necessity is no overstatement. New research commissioned by Marie Curie shows that almost one in three dying people have unaddressed symptoms and concerns, and limited or no access to GP services. This is a system in crisis, and demand for specialist palliative care is set to increase significantly. People in the UK are living longer, with complex needs, and this is a mounting pressure on services that are already patchy and under strain.

According to a widely cited study published in BMC Medicine, the demand for specialist palliative care services could increase by 42% by 2040. For those who access specialist palliative care, a referral can be an incredibly daunting experience. People are forced to stare their life- limiting illness directly in the face. Patients often take each day as it comes, and before they know it, they face forms and terminology that they have never encountered before.

I welcome the Government’s commitment to develop a palliative care and end-of-life care modern service framework. This will be the first such national plan in two decades. As part of the strategy, I hope the Minister will look closely at the practical support provided to patients and families as they navigate referral. It can be a minefield, and people must feel confident that their care plan is right for them.

I hope the Government will seize the opportunities of the forthcoming NHS workforce plan. The sharp rise in demand that lies ahead of us must be met by a resilient and comprehensive workforce. Making the shift from hospital to community will require investment in general practice, community and district nursing, and specialist palliative care professionals. I would be grateful if the Minister could set out whether palliative care services will be a key component of the workforce plan.

The Commission on Palliative and End of Life Care underlines the hard yards that we need to do on training. It highlights that a

“lack of training available to clinicians in undergraduate and postgraduate programmes”

is leading to

“poor confidence and competencies...in knowing how best to engage in care planning conversations.”

It is crucial to note that it is not just specialists who have a vital role to play; palliative and end-of-life care must become a compulsory part of training for all health and social care workers.

Greater health literacy in this area would also improve earlier identification. This would not only improve outcomes for patients, but reduce costs for our broader health system. Given these clear opportunities, will the Minister commit to implementing mandatory training for all health and social care staff in undergraduate programmes from September 2026? Will she also commit to ongoing and specialist-level training for those already part of our NHS workforce? We must thank all those who currently work in the palliative care world. Their work is nothing short of awesome.

I wish to end my speech with a reflection on what our overarching focus must be. A person is never more vulnerable than when they are told that their life will come to an end. When that happens—when nature makes that choice—we must enable people to maximise the precious time that they have left. Today, too many people are not afforded the opportunity to do that. I urge the Government to be bold as they set a new direction for palliative and end-of-life care.