Call for end of life care funding

A Department of Health official is calling on primary care trusts (PCTs) to fund skilled nursing care that would provide extended services to patients in their home.


Professor Mike Richards, the national clinical director for cancer and end of life care, urged PCTs to fund 24-hour skilled nursing care for patients living out their last days in either their home or a care home, NursingTimes.net reports.


Currently, the government has an End of Life Care Strategy that incorporates nurse teams to respond to patients.

By asking PCTs to fund 24-hour skilled nursing services, Richards is hoping to ensure sufficient coverage so patients can remain in their home, opposed to being transported to a hospital, according to the article.


"We want [the PCTs] to look at this and see where their priorities should be. It is quite clear that more training is required. A major role for trusts in this is to make sure staff time is made available so they can go on courses," said Richards at a Westminster Health Forum conference in London, states NursingTimes.


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