Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the adequacy of access to (a) counselling and (b) psychological support for patients who receive a diagnosis of terminal illness.

NHS England has published statutory guidance which outlines areas for consideration when commissioning palliative and end of life care services and, within this, there is reference to improving equity of access and reducing inequity in outcomes and experience. Additionally, NHS England has developed a palliative and end of life care dashboard, which brings together all relevant local data in one place. The dashboard helps commissioners understand the palliative and end of life care needs of their local population, enabling integrated care boards to put plans in place to address and track the improvement of health inequalities, and ensure that funding is distributed fairly, based on prevalence.

NHS England’s statutory guidance for palliative and end of life care states that integrated care board (ICB) commissioners should work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care service providers available to deliver high-quality end of life care, paying particular attention to access to mental health and wellbeing support and spiritual care.

National Health Service counselling and psychological support is principally provided through local NHS Talking Therapies services, which provide treatments, such as cognitive behavioural therapy, to adults with common mental health conditions including depression and anxiety. People can self-refer to NHS Talking Therapies Services or be referred by their general practitioner. All ICBs are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services integrated into physical healthcare pathways.