A new five-year strategy to improve palliative care across Scotland has been launched, with a focus on better training, stronger community support, and more coordinated services.
Published last week, the plan was announced by the Scottish Government during a visit to Cornhill Macmillan Centre in Perth on Tuesday 10 September.
The strategy, titled Palliative Care Matters for All, was developed in partnership with NHS Scotland, health charities, social care professionals and people with lived experience of palliative services.
It sets out how specialist care for people with life-shortening conditions will be better integrated into hospitals, care homes, and community settings.
A new national learning hub will support training for healthcare workers, while a round-the-clock advice line will be introduced to help staff provide the best possible care.
There are also plans to improve public understanding of what it means to live with a terminal condition, with new community networks supported to make conversations about death, dying and bereavement more open and accessible.
Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health Jenni Minto said the strategy aims to reach everyone in need, no matter their circumstances.
“We want everyone in Scotland, regardless of age, diagnosis or location to have access to timely, high quality and person-centred palliative care,” she said.
“This strategy is rooted in the voices of people with experience of palliative care, alongside the expertise of professionals, carers and the third sector.”
The strategy is backed by a delivery plan running from 2025 to 2028, and outlines the structural changes needed to strengthen services across Scotland’s health and social care system.
Mark Hazelwood, Chief Executive of the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care, said the new approach must be seen as core to how the country supports people at the most vulnerable stages of life.
“The care and support received by people living with serious illness or approaching the end of life matters enormously to everyone at some point,” he said.
“There is a lot which can, with the right support, be improved.”
Jacki Smart, Chair of the Scottish Hospice Leadership Group, welcomed the focus on education and coordination.
“We are encouraged to see commitments to improved training, public understanding, and better integration across settings,” she said.
Scotland’s palliative care services support thousands of people each year, through both specialist hospices and NHS-run services in every part of the country.
