Almost 2,500 Patients Denied Access To Hospice Inpatient Care

A major report, launched today by the Irish Hospice Foundation (IHF), has  estimated that 2,500 patients each year are denied access to the hospice inpatient care they need because of the failure to develop hospice services countrywide.

The finding emerged from an examination of data from four sources over two years and is contained in the report Access to Specialist Palliative Care Services and Place of Death in Ireland – What The Data Tells Us. 

The report analysed information from the Health Service Executive's (HSE) Minimum Data Set for Palliative Care and HSE national and regional population statistics from 2011 along with the National Cancer Registry and the Hospital Inpatient Enquiry from 2010. 

The report found that because of regional inequity in resource allocation, an estimated 2,500 patients are denied admission to hospice beds every year.   This is in spite of stated national policy since 2001 to secure equity of access to specialist palliative care by providing one hospice bed for every 10,000 people. 

Going by current population figures, there should be 450 hospice beds in the country. Today, there are 155 hospice beds available with another 44 beds ready but not yet operational. Some three regions of the country - the North East (comprising Louth, Meath, Cavan, Monaghan), the Midlands (Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Longford) and the South East (Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny and Carlow) - as well as Wicklow, Mayo and Kerry have no hospice inpatient unit.  

The Mid-West (comprising Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary) and the North-West (Donegal, Sligo and Leitrim) are the only two regions of the country, while still not compliant with national policy, that are close to providing one bed per 10,000 of the population. The report revealed that those areas of the country with hospice beds show a significant reduction in the number of deaths occurring in acute hospitals.

Sharon Foley, CEO of the IHF, commented: "In some areas of the country, patients at their most vulnerable are being denied access to services simply because of where they live. Not having access to inpatient hospice beds has a critical impact on whether a patient dies in an acute hospital or not. We are calling on the government to explore what might be achievable through a broad end-of-life strategy. 

"It is clear that the 2001 national policy on palliative care and the related 2009 framework – both valid policy tools – need to be updated to address new challenges and ways to deliver health care. We believe that by managing national health resources  more effectively, many more people could be facilitated to be cared for and to die outside of acute hospitals and in their preferred place of care. It is essential that we safeguard what developments in hospice care have been achieved. 

"Hospice home care, which is available all over the country and which is shown to be highly effective, must be protected. For each of us, there's only one chance in life for a good death – that’s one chance to get end-of-life care right."

(CD/JP)