Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment his Department has made of the impact of access to 24/7 palliative care telephone advice lines for people with a terminal illness and their carers on reducing (a) distress, (b) emergency department attendances, (c) ambulance use, (d) unplanned hospital admissions and (e) other pressures on the NHS.

No specific assessment has been made. Local commissioners are responsible for ensuring access to palliative and end of life care. NHS England has published statutory guidance to support commissioners with implementation of the Health and Care Act 2022 and to define how services should meet population needs 24 hours a day, seven days a week.