Researchers from King’s College London’s Cicely Saunders institute, Hull York Medical School and the University of Cambridge have published the final Marie Curie Better End of Life report 2024. 

The team, which included researchers in the ARC’s palliative and end of life care theme, based their findings on the largest nationally representative post-bereavement survey carried out in England and Wales for a decade.

While the report highlighted some examples of high-quality care at the end of life – especially for those accessing specialist palliative care – the findings demonstrated overstretched services and poor coordination, resulting in high levels of unmet needs among dying people and their families.

Among the key findings:

  • One in five of those who died had no contact with their GP in the last three months of life
  • More than one in three people were severely or overwhelmingly affected by pain or breathlessness in their final week of life
  • Almost two thirds of unpaid carers felt anxious most or all of the time about the person’s illness or treatment. Family members described feeling unsupported, spending precious time struggling to access and navigate different care services.

The survey has provided bereaved people with an important opportunity to share how they feel about the care received before death, and their bereavement experiences...it is essential to consider what we can learn from the experiences shared in this survey, including what worked well and what must be improved.

Patient and Public Involvement (PPI) group members

This study reveals patchy and inconsistent provision of care for people approaching the end of life. While there were examples of excellent care - including in the community, in care homes, and in hospitals - the overall picture is of services that are overstretched, and of health and care staff lacking the time they need to consistently provide high-quality care.

Professor Katherine Sleeman, lead researcher on the project, King’s College London

The survey findings have received wide media coverage, featuring on BBC news, BBC Breakfast, Good Morning Britain and several print news outlets.

Find out more

Read more about the palliative and end of life care research at ARC South London, or read the full report.