Care of Dying Threatened by Nursing Crisis

07 December 2011
The specialist care that people who are dying receive may be put at risk due to a growing recruitment crisis, according to a new report published today by the National Council for Palliative Care.

The latest annual edition of the National Council for Palliative Care’s Specialist Palliative Care Workforce Survey, which draws on findings from 2010, expresses concerns that an ageing nursing workforce combined with staff shortages could pose serious problems in the future and impact on the quality of care that the terminally ill receive.

The survey reveals that the number of specialist palliative care nurses declined by 6.9% in the period 2008-10, despite the introduction of the End of Life Care Strategy in 2008 which called for a greater focus on how people are cared for and supported towards the end of their lives. Significant staff shortages were also found, with an average vacancy rate amongst the specialist palliative care nursing workforce of 8.7% and amongst specialist palliative care consultants of 7.8%.

The report also expresses concerns about an ageing specialist palliative care workforce. Almost four out of ten (39.2%) specialist palliative care nurses are over the age of 50, as are 44.7% of social workers, 36.3% of physiotherapists and 25.3% of occupational therapists. More than a quarter (27.5%) of specialist palliative care consultants are aged over 50, higher than the national average.

This picture of an ageing workforce with falling numbers of specialist nurses should be seen in the context of increased demand for services. It is projected that numbers of people dying each year will increase from about 500,000 at present to about 586,000 by 2030.

Speaking today, Simon Chapman, Director of Policy and Parliamentary Affairs at the National Council for Palliative Care said:

“With someone in England dying every minute, many of us will one day require specialist palliative care. Although we are fortunate to be able to count on a great many experienced staff and a growing recognition that end of life care must be everyone’s business, an ageing palliative care workforce could pose real recruitment and training problems in the future and needs to be urgently addressed".

Eve Richardson, Chief Executive of the National Council for Palliative Care added:

“The care of dying people will be seriously threatened without a greater focus on recruitment of palliative care specialists. We only get once chance to get end of life care right, which is why the concerns we have raised must be treated as a real priority”.

Notes to editors

1. The National Council for Palliative Care’s Specialist Palliative Care Workforce Survey was produced collaboratively with Mouchel and supported by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network. It is available electronically at www.ncpc.org.uk/library

2. The National Council for Palliative Care is the umbrella charity for all those involved in palliative, end of life and hospice care in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. It also leads the Dying Matters Coalition (www.dyingmatters.org) which aims to help transform public attitudes towards dying, death and bereavement in England.

3. For all media enquiries please contact Joe Levenson, Director of Communications at the National Council for Palliative Care on 020 7697 1520 or 07795 158003.

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