Overview

This bill mandates that Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) in England ensure everyone in their area with palliative care needs has access to appropriate health services. This includes pain management, psychological support, and information about their condition and care options.

Description

The Access to Palliative Care Bill requires CCGs to:

• Guarantee access to palliative care: Ensure all individuals with palliative care needs receive access to appropriate services, including pain and symptom management, psychological support for the patient and their relatives, and information about their condition and available care.
• Develop and publish a palliative care strategy: Create and publicly release a plan outlining how they will meet the palliative care needs of adults and children in their area. This plan must detail how specialist palliative care services will be provided and how data on palliative care will be collected and reported. The strategy must be reviewed and updated at least every three years.
• Define key terms: The bill provides clear definitions for "palliative care," "specialist palliative care services," "health services," and "relative."

Government Spending

The bill doesn't specify direct government spending figures. However, implementing the bill's requirements will likely necessitate increased funding for palliative care services across CCGs in England to meet the expanded access standards.

Groups Affected

This bill primarily affects:

• Patients needing palliative care: They will benefit from improved access to services and support.
• Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs): They have a new legal duty to provide and plan for palliative care services.
• Palliative care providers: Increased demand for services might lead to greater employment opportunities.
• Relatives of patients: They will benefit from improved support for both themselves and the patient.

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