Specialist palliative care has the potential to reduce costs by up to £8,000 per person and improve quality of life, according to new research published in Palliative Medicine.
Led by researchers at King’s College London, the research considered two modes of palliative care for those living at home and for those in acute hospital settings.
As well as significantly reducing the overall cost of care per person, specialist palliative care delivered at home and in the hospital was associated with improved quality of life for patients in their final months.
Peter May, Senior Lecturer in Health Economics at King’s College London and lead author of the study, stated: “This is the first study to estimate the economic impact for England.
“About half of the people who might benefit from specialist palliative care receive it, and this is highly cost-effective for both patients and the NHS.”
Unplanned hospital admissions lead to higher costs
In high-income countries, about 1% of people die annually, but this group accounts for 8-10% of all healthcare spending.
This high cost is largely due to unplanned hospital admissions, which can lead to fragmented and less satisfactory care.
In these countries, people with serious medical illnesses largely prefer to be given palliative care at home if possible, but many end up dying in a hospital.
Specialist palliative care could reduce these costs
Specialist palliative care refers to care for those with more complex needs at the end of their life whose care cannot be delivered by a primary or core healthcare team.
Therefore, it requires a workforce with specialist skills who are experienced in delivering palliative care as their main role.
The new study used economic modelling to evaluate the potential savings to the NHS that specialist palliative care provides.
By combining the best available evidence from other research and government statistics, researchers estimated the cost savings from reducing unplanned hospital care, which benefits patients and the NHS.
Quality of life was measured by assessing five dimensions of patient health: mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain and anxiety or depression.
Home-based specialist palliative care was associated with reduced costs of £7,908 per person who died, while hospital specialist palliative care reduced costs by £6,480 per person.
“About half of people who might benefit from specialist palliative care receive it, and this is highly cost-effective for both patients and the NHS. We must now turn our attention to understanding how and why people who might benefit do not yet receive palliative care,” May said.
Specialist care is key to solving several NHS problems
The researchers found that in 2022 in England, specialist palliative care supported over 20,000 people needing end-of-life care outside of hospital, saving approximately 1.5 million hospital bed days and reducing healthcare expenditures by £817m.
Many people are missing out on receiving quality palliative care – if any at all – and there are growing needs for increased palliative care from hospices, community teams and in hospitals.
This study demonstrates the value and cost-effectiveness of specialist palliative care in addressing key system problems in the NHS.
Professor Fliss Murtagh from Hull York Medical School concluded: “Many people may be reluctant to ask for palliative care, believing that it might accelerate their decline and impose additional pressure on the health service. The reverse is true.
“This study shows that good quality care in appropriate settings can improve their quality of life, lessen symptoms and other concerns, and reduce NHS pressures – everyone with serious medical illness should be asking for it.”
Team Health Accessible
Health & Wellness Editorial Team
HealthAccessible editorial team delivers trusted, accessible, and evidence-based health information for everyone.
