Care for terminally ill people in Scotland is inadequate and fragmented, study says
dailyrecord.co.ukA charity has warned that terminally ill people in Scotland are suffering before death due to struggles accessing essential care at home during evening and weekends.
The UK study, funded by end of life charity Marie Curie, found that out-of-hours care is often "inadequate and fragmented", with many patients resorting to attending emergency departments when care is unavailable.There were over 130,000 visits to A&E in Scotland by people in the last year of their life in 2020, with more than 80,000 of these happening out of hours.
These visits increased dramatically in the final three months of life, suggesting people were unable to get the care and support they needed at home.
The charity has called for better palliative care in the community, including out-of-hours, so the quality of life for dying patients can improve, and pressure on emergency services will reduce.Marie Curie associate director of public affairs in Scotland, Amy Dalrymple, said: “This research paints a bleak picture of out-of-hours care in many areas across Scotland, but we cannot tell people to die during office hours.
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