Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what plans he has to make training in palliative and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.

There are no current plans to make training in palliative care and end-of-life care mandatory for health and care professionals.

We are committed to training the staff we need to ensure patients are cared for by the right professional, when and where they need it. To ensure the health and social care workforce is equipped and well supported to deliver personalised care to people at the end of life, Health Education England, now part of NHS England, hosts the End of Life Care for All e-learning training programme, which includes nine modules on improving care for people at the end of life.

Independent statutory regulatory bodies such as the General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council have the general function of promoting high standards of education and coordinating all stages of education to ensure that health and care students and newly qualified healthcare professionals are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and attitudes essential for professional practice.

The training curricula for postgraduate specialty training, including palliative care and end-of-life care, is set by the relevant royal college and have to meet the standards set by the GMC.

For general practitioners (GPs), the Royal College for General Practice has established the GP with Extended Roles (GPwER) in Palliative and End of Life Care Framework. The GpwER framework sets out standards, capabilities, training requirements, supervision and governance for GPs working beyond core practice, including in palliative and end-of-life care.