Work begins on Scottish Government's Palliative Care Action Plan

The Scottish Government has outlined the principal stages in developing the Better Health Better Care Palliative Care Action Plan. The May 2007 report by the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) identified the fact that ‘standards of palliative care are variable across Scotland, and cancer patients are likely to receive greater support than those with non-malignant conditions’.

The Scottish Government plans to publish the palliative care plan this autumn, after unveiling it at the SPPC conference in October.

COPD is the only major cause of death that is currently on the rise in Scotland, and so the provision of palliative care for respiratory patients is of increasingly vital importance. We are delighted with the intentions of the Better Health Better Care palliative care action plan, and hope that they will result in positive action to tackle the inequalities in the provision of end of life care.