Norman Lamb on 'care for the dying' fact-finding mission in North Norfolk

2.18.04pm GMT Wed 16th Mar 2005

Care for terminally ill people in North Norfolk is being put under the spotlight by Norman Lamb. Mr Lamb has written to North Norfolk Primary Care Trust to find out more about the services and choices available locally to people who are terminally ill, and their families.

Norman Lamb has asked the following questions:

1. What services are currently in place to support the care of the terminally ill

2. How services facilitate choice of place of death now, as well as plans for the future

3. How many terminally ill patients were cared for over the past year, where they died and

details of any organisations who supported their care

"Recent research by Marie Curie Cancer Care shows that most people in the UK would want to be cared for at home if they were terminally ill," Norman Lamb points out. "Yet, across the country, more than half of all cancer patients currently die in the hospital."

Marie Curie claims that for every £1 spent on providing care for the dying in the community, around £2 is freed up back in hospitals.

"The issue of choice around place of death and the provision of palliative care services to all those who need it - irrespective of diagnosis - is one of the major challenges which faces us in healthcare today," said Mr Lamb. "I await an answer from North Norfolk Primary Care Trust to find out what their policy in this matter is."