"We are all, in some way, affected by death and dying. With 600,000 deaths per year in the UK, and almost half of adults reporting being bereaved at some point in the last five years, it is likely that we have recently been personally touched by loss, or know someone who has. And yet, despite the inevitability of our lives ending, in the UK 118,000 people every year do not receive the care they need at this vital time.
The reasons for this vary, but as a nation we have to do more to ensure that expert end of life care is available to all who need it, regardless of who they are, where they live, and why they are dying. Providers of hospice care in particular are committed to reducing inequities in access to expert end of life care and to reaching more people, and their families, as they approach the end of their lives."