Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the adequacy of NHS staffing levels for the delivery of palliative care services in (a) hospitals, (b) hospices and (c) homes in the community.

The Government recognises that access to high-quality, palliative and end of life care can make all the difference to individuals and their loved ones. As set out on the Health and Care Act 2022, integrated care boards (ICBs) are responsible for commissioning palliative and end of life services that meet the needs of their population. In July 2022, NHS England published statutory guidance for commissioners on palliative and end of life care, which sets out the considerations for ICBs to meet their legal duties.

In 2023, NHS England published the NHS Long Term Workforce Plan (LTWP). The LTWP sets out the steps the NHS and its partners need to take to deliver an NHS workforce that meets the changing needs of the population over the next 15 years. It will put the workforce on a sustainable footing for the long term. The LTWP aims to grow the number and proportion of NHS staff working in mental health, primary and community care to enable the service ambition to deliver more preventative and proactive care across the NHS. The LTWP sets out an ambition to grow these roles 73% by 2036/37, including plans to increase the community workforce specifically by 3.9% each year.

Most hospices are independent, charitable organisations, and are, therefore, responsible for determining their own staffing levels. While the LTWP did not explicitly model demand for health professionals from non-NHS settings, it does assume that the expansion of domestic education and training and improved retention would have a positive impact on healthcare numbers working elsewhere in the health and care system.