News archive 2008

End of Life Care Strategy

18 Jul 2008, PR 157/08

King’s Professor of Palliative Care, Irene Higginson, was a key contributor to the Department of Health’s new End of Life Care Strategy published earlier this week. The ten-year strategy is the first comprehensive framework aimed at promoting high quality palliative care across the country for all adults approaching end of life and is backed by £268 million in public funding.

The strategy ties in closely to the work of the Department of Palliative Care, Policy & Rehabilitation at King’s College London and the new Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care currently under construction at our Denmark Hill Campus.  The Institute will be the world’s first purpose built centre dedicated to palliative care, support and information, education and research.

Professor Irene Higginson and her team are cited in the strategy for their leading research into where people die and their analysis of future needs for palliative care are detailed as part of the strategy.  Professor Higginson said: 'The importance of this announcement and the Government’s commitment to improving end of life coincides with the construction of the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care.  As the population lives longer, due to reductions in acute disease many more people will need palliative care and support to live as well as possible, even as they approach the end of their lives.  We look forward to continuing our work with the Department of Health in achieving this aim through our research, education and support programme at the Institute.'

Notes to editors

Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care
Construction of the Cicely Saunders Institute of Palliative Care will be completed in the autumn of 2009.  This has been possible with the generous support of Cicely Saunders International and other key donors including Atlantic Philanthropies, the Wolfson Foundation, The Garfield Weston Foundation, MacMillan Cancer Support, Kirby Laing Foundation, Roddie Fleming, The Dinwoodie Settlement, King’s College Hospital Charity and Guy’s & St Thomas’ Charity.

Cicely Saunders International
Cicely Saunders International was established in 2002 in the name of Dame Cicely Saunders, a founder trustee and its President.  Dame Cicely is widely acknowledged as the founder of the modern hospice movement and is credited with “mentoring some of the great world leaders in this field” (Professor Eduardo Bruera).  The Charity’s mission to promote research to improve the care and treatment of all patients with progressive illness and to make high-quality palliative care available to everyone who needs it – be it in hospice, hospital or home.  There is no other charity specifically concerned with carrying out work to identify and promote best practice in palliative care.

King’s College London
King’s College London is one of the top 25 universities in the world (Times Higher 2007) and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King’s has 19,700 students from more than 140 countries, and 5,400 employees. King’s has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. The College is in the top group of UK universities for research earnings and has an annual income of approximately £400 million. An investment of £500 million has been made in the redevelopment of its estate.

King’s has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, social sciences, the health sciences, natural sciences and engineering, and has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe and is home to five Medical Research Council Centres - more than any other university.

King's College London and Guy's and St Thomas', King's College Hospital and South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trusts are working together to create the UK's largest Academic Health Science Centre (AHSC). The AHSC will bring together the widest range of clinical and research expertise in the UK – strengths that will be used to drive improvements in care for patients, allowing them to benefit from breakthroughs in medical science and receive leading edge treatment at the earliest possible opportunity. For further information visit: http://www.londonsahsc.org

The Department of Health End of Life Care Strategy can be found at www.doh.gov.uk


Further information
Melanie Gardner, Senior Public Relations Officer, Public Relations Department, King’s College London. Tel: 020 7848 3073; email melanie.gardner@kcl.ac.uk

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