Parliament Heard the Cry: UK Palliative Care Is Failing — Now Ministers Must Act

The UK government is gathering at the Labour party conference to address the nation’s most pressing challenges. Yet amid the speeches and policy announcements, ministers must not ignore the starkest message to emerge from Parliament just two weeks ago: the palliative care system is failing far too many people.

During the assisted dying debate, MPs divided on the central issue found rare common ground. Across the chamber, they agreed that palliative care requires urgent reform. Some spoke from personal experience — relatives left waiting hours in pain, or forced into hospital because the support to remain at home simply did not exist.

They highlighted a system defined by inequality. People from poorer backgrounds struggle disproportionately to access quality palliative care, and provision remains a “postcode lottery.” In some areas, 24-hour specialist support is available at home; in the next town over, A&E is the only option.

As political attention shifts to conference season and the next wave of priorities — including a proposed system of adult social care free at the point of delivery — there is a real danger these concerns will be shelved. That cannot be allowed to happen. The urgency MPs voiced during the assisted dying debate does not expire with the vote.

At Sue Ryder, we maintain a neutral stance on assisted dying. But we are unequivocal: everyone deserves access to high-quality palliative care when they need it. Too often, the public discourse frames the issue as a binary choice between unbearable suffering and an assisted death. The reality is far more nuanced.

Dying is not easy. Some people experience pain, breathlessness, restlessness, or other distressing symptoms. When that happens, our duty is to respond with every skill, expertise, and compassion we possess to relieve suffering as fully as possible. Yet one troubling aspect of the assisted dying debate is the portrayal of the most difficult deaths as if they were the norm.

When good care is available, dying can be a calmer, more peaceful experience: families gathering at bedsides, holding hands, sharing stories, laughing through tears, and making the most of whatever time remains. We see people growing increasingly tired, sleeping more, eating less, gradually slipping from awareness as the body begins its natural process. Fear sometimes appears, but it is rarely fear of pain alone. More often, it is the fear of leaving loved ones behind. People need honest conversations about what lies ahead. They need dignity, compassion, expert care, and the confidence that someone will be there for them and those they love.

Stories of suffering carry enormous emotional weight, and they should. No one wants to see another human being in pain or distress. Even with the best care, some deaths are difficult. But much of the suffering we witness is not physical. It is uncertainty. It is loneliness. It is spending precious final days on a crowded hospital ward because the support to go home was not arranged in time. It is families exhausted from navigating a labyrinthine system when they should be focused on each other.

That is why the conversation about assisted dying must now be matched by an equally urgent conversation about how people live in their final weeks and months. A good death is rarely defined by a single final act, but by whether someone feels safe, comfortable, and heard. It is about having the right care, in the right place — often at home — and ensuring no one faces the end of life feeling frightened, unsupported, or alone.

Whatever one’s view on assisted dying, decent palliative care should be non-negotiable.

This perspective comes from years at the bedsides of dying people, and from supporting the families who love them. Working alongside our partners in healthcare, we want to build a palliative and end-of-life care system that can meet rising demand and give everyone the care they deserve.

We need to invest in palliative and end-of-life care where it is needed most. That means stronger palliative care in hospitals. It means the right expertise in the community to prevent unnecessary and distressing hospital admissions. It means expanding hospice-at-home services so more people can be cared for in their own homes, surrounded by the people they love. And it means guaranteeing specialist support is available when people need it — not dictated by their postcode or the hour they become unwell.

These are not optional extras at the end of life. They are essential components of healthcare, and they should be available to everyone.

As Labour MPs convene at conference, ministers have an opportunity to prove that improving palliative care is more than a talking point raised during a contentious debate. The responsibility to tackle the inequalities that debate laid bare has only just begun. The assisted dying vote may be over. The palliative care crisis is not.

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