Older people ‘missing out’ on end of life care, warns new report

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The majority of people over 70 in Scotland are not getting adequate care at the end of their life, a new report from the University of Edinburgh has warned.

Many health professionals find it hard to know when to start palliative care with older people who have multiple complex conditions, a growing demographic presenting to GPs, the report for terminal illness charity Marie Curie said.

This has meant younger people diagnosed with a terminal illness are far more likely to get their wishes for the end of their life heard.

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With older people there is likely to be less clear signs to indicate whether a patient’s condition might soon deteriorate and that they would now benefit from palliative care.

This means they are more likely to be viewed as ‘old’ or ‘frail’ than terminal, and therefore denied palliative care which would seek to improve their quality of life, the report said.

The report’s co-author Professor Scott Murray said: “People need to know that palliative care has something to offer everyone so that they can live as well as possible wherever they are. It can prevent much unnecessary distress by helping people with whatever worries them most, whether they have cancer, heart failure or living with frailty.”

Richard Meade, Marie Curie head of policy and public affairs for Scotland, said the report highlighted the need for increased awareness of palliative needs as Scotland’s population ages.

“Everyone who can benefit from palliative care should get access to it. Yet, this report worryingly highlights that older people, especially those who are frail, are missing out on that care,” he said.

“We fully support the Scottish Government’s vision that everyone who needs palliative care will have access to it by 2021. To achieve this, we would urge the new health and social care partnerships to assess the needs of older people approaching the end of life in their localities and to make sure they are getting the care they need.”