Overview

This bill aims to improve access to palliative care services in England and Wales, particularly for children with life-limiting illnesses. It mandates that NHS commissioners ensure adequate palliative care provision and establishes procedures to manage disagreements between parents and doctors regarding a child's treatment.

Description

The bill has two main components:

Palliative Care Access

The bill requires NHS commissioners to guarantee access to specialist and generalist palliative care services for all patients needing them. This includes hospital, community, and home-based care, ensuring services are consistent with reducing health inequalities. It mandates that hospice services commissioned from the voluntary sector provide pharmaceutical services via NHS pharmacies. Commissioners must incorporate palliative care provision into strategic plans. Clinicians providing general palliative care must have access to specialist advice.

Treatment of Children with Life-Limiting Illnesses

This section addresses disagreements between parents and doctors concerning palliative care and disease-modifying treatments for children with life-limiting illnesses. Hospital boards must facilitate discussions, consider parental views, provide relevant medical data, consult with clinical ethics committees, and offer mediation. The bill prevents courts from obstructing parents' efforts to seek disease-modifying treatments unless the proposed institution is unreliable or the treatment poses a disproportionate risk to the child. Courts cannot impose costs on parents in such disputes.

Government Spending

The bill does not explicitly state the cost. However, implementing the increased access to palliative care and the mediation processes will likely increase government spending on healthcare services. The exact financial impact remains to be determined through further analysis and budget allocations.

Groups Affected

• Patients with life-limiting illnesses: Improved access to palliative care and support.
• Children with life-limiting illnesses and their parents: Enhanced mechanisms for resolving disagreements with doctors regarding treatment.
• NHS commissioners: New responsibilities to ensure appropriate palliative care provision.
• Healthcare providers (hospices, hospitals, community services): Potential changes in service delivery and resource allocation.
• Voluntary sector hospice providers: Required to provide pharmaceutical services via NHS pharmacies.

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