Palliative Care
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment he has made of the potential impact of the Hospice at Home programme delivered by hospices such as Dr Kershaw’s in Oldham on patients.
Answered by Stephen Kinnock
Charitable hospices are independent, autonomous organisations that provide a wide range of services, many of which go beyond what statutory services are legally required to be delivered. Therefore, the Government does not collect or assess data on these services.
Palliative care services are included in the list of services an integrated care board (ICB) must commission. To support ICBs in this duty, NHS England has published statutory guidance and service specifications. The statutory guidance states that ICBs must work to ensure that there is sufficient provision of care services to meet the needs of their local populations, which can include hospice services, delivered both in inpatient units and in people’s homes, available within the ICB catchment.
The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087 I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.
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