CSI a key contributor to the DoH’s new End of Life Care Strategy
Cicely Saunders International was a key contributor to the Department of Health’s new End of Life Care Strategy published earlier last week. The ten-year strategy is the first comprehensive framework aimed at promoting high quality palliative care across the country for all adults approaching end of life and is backed by £268 million in public funding.
The strategy ties in closely to the work of Cicely Saunders International, the Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation at King’s College London and the new Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care currently under construction on the Denmark Hill Campus of King’s College London. The Institute will be the world’s first purpose built centre dedicated to palliative care, support and information, education and research.
Professor Irene Higginson, Scientific Director of Cicely Saunders International, and her team are cited in the strategy for their leading research into where people die and their analysis of future needs for palliative care are detailed as part of the strategy. Professor Higginson said: 'The importance of this announcement and the Government’s commitment to improving end of life coincides with the construction of the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care. As the population lives longer, due to reductions in acute disease many more people will need palliative care and support to live as well as possible, even as they approach the end of their lives. We look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Health in achieving this aim through our research, education and support programme at the Institute.'
The Department of Health End of Life Care Strategy can be found at www.doh.gov.uk