PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Palliative Care: Standards (17 October 2024)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will (a) make an assessment of the adequacy of access to (i) counselling and (ii) psychological support for patients who receive a diagnosis of terminal illness and (b) take steps to ensure that such patients have immediate access to such support.

Asked by:
Rachael Maskell (Labour)

We want a society where every person receives high-quality, compassionate care from diagnosis through to the end of life, including counselling and psychological support if they need it.

NHS Talking Therapies Long Term Conditions services provide evidence-based psychological therapies for people with depression and anxiety disorders, who also have a long-term physical health condition, including those with a terminal diagnosis. All integrated care boards are expected to expand services locally by commissioning NHS Talking Therapies services, which are integrated into physical healthcare pathways.

As part of our mission to build a National Health Service that is fit for the future and that is there when people need it, the Government will recruit an additional 8,500 mental health workers to reduce delays and provide faster treatment.

Answered by:
Stephen Kinnock (Labour)
25 October 2024