Shadow Health Minister and Clwyd West AM, Darren Millar, has pledged to champion the concerns of local people with a terminal illness by lending his support to a Marie Curie campaign calling for the right for everyone to have palliative care when they need it.
Darren has backed the campaign from the UK’s leading charity supporting people living with any terminal illness, and their families.
He said:
“The work Marie Curie Nurses carry out to care for and support people living with a terminal illness is truly outstanding. I am happy to support the charity’s campaign to ensure that people who need palliative care services don’t miss out at the time when they need that care the most.”
The campaign comes as Marie Curie revealed that only half of people over the age of 50 in the Wales – of whom there are 1.2 million - are not confident that they will get the care they need towards the end of their life.
Currently, one in four people each year who need palliative care miss out on it because their needs are not recognised and they are not referred on to the right services. Marie Curie is calling on the Welsh Government to build on the good work already done to improve access to high quality palliative and end of life care for everyone with a terminal illness.
Darren has pledged to help ensure that any constituents who have a terminal illness know what services and benefits they are entitled to; and work with local NHS services to improve access to and quality of palliative care for those who need it.
In Clwyd West Marie Curie has around 17 Nurses operating two services to ensure that people living with a terminal illness get the care and support they need. Typically, Marie Curie Nurses provide overnight care between 10pm and 7am, while the Rapid Response service sees Nurses providing urgent care at short notice at home.
Simon Jones, Head of Policy & Public Affairs for Wales at Marie Curie, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Darren Millar for supporting Marie Curie’s campaign. Much has been done in Wales over recent years to improve palliative care services but we must all continue to work to ensure that everyone with a terminal illness, whatever illness that might be or wherever they live, gets the high quality care and support they need and deserve.”
If you or someone you’re close to has a terminal illness, you can call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or visit mariecurie.org.uk/help. You can also share experiences and talk to people in a similar situation on the Marie Curie community .