How palliative and end-of-life care can help the NHS to navigate winter pressures
As the clocks go back and we head into the colder months, the NHS will begin to experience increasing pressure. NHS services will often have longer waiting times, overcrowded emergency departments and at capacity inpatient units.
In January 2025, 96% of adult beds were occupied (1) and a record 11% of patients who needed emergency admission waited over 12 hours before being admitted to hospital. (2)
Winter pressure on an already stretched NHS will be hugely detrimental for patients. In June this year, data was published for the first time on the use of corridor care in the NHS, revealing that nearly 3,000 patients a day receive care in hospital corridors, (3) which is both clinically inappropriate and distressing for patients and their families.
Over half of nurses have reported having to provide end-of-life care in corridors or non-clinical areas. (4) Without action these numbers will climb over the winter months.
These issues should not be seen as inevitable and can be prevented.
For example, in January 2025 more than 1 in 7 people in hospital beds were medically fit for discharge, (5) indicating that the right care and support is not in place for many in their homes and communities, with a proportion of these patients having a palliative care need. Early intervention, a focus on prevention and improving community care, and access to care at home can all play a key role.
However, winter pressure on the NHS will continue to impact patients year after year. Bold new strategies are needed to break this cycle.
Sue Ryder has supported winter pressures locally before and we know that palliative and end-of-life care (PEoLC) can play its role in addressing this issue.
A significant proportion of people who use NHS services are approaching the end of life. Over 40% of deaths in England occur in hospital (6) and 9% of all emergency admissions are people in the last month of life. (7)
Therefore, keeping people at the end of life out of hospital wherever possible and making sure patients are discharged as soon as medically appropriate can significantly reduce pressure on the NHS.
Sue Ryder’s proposed ecosystem for the future of PEoLC would help to achieve this.
It will transform care by strengthening the PEoLC people receive in hospitals as well as helping to care for people closer to home.
This will include:
- Provide a new approach to hospital care: support PEoLC professionals within NHS hospitals to provide compassionate, tailored care for those nearing the end of life, which can increase acute bed productivity and relieve pressure on wider hospital teams.
- Increase support for people in their own homes: Expand care in the community through partnerships, virtual wards, 24/7 telephone support, and increased hospice-at-home services, helping more people die at home, reducing emergency admissions and speeding up discharges.
Implementing these lasting improvements requires a long-term commitment to meaningful reform, underpinned by cross-system collaboration and a clear focus on delivering high-quality, person-centred PEoLC.
As we head into winter the Government must take the opportunity to work with the palliative care sector to meaningfully address winter pressures, together.
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