Study highlights gaps in palliative care access and calls for earlier support

A new Swansea University study has revealed significant disparities in access to palliative care across Wales and underlined the need for earlier identification and better support for people approaching the end of life.

The research, published in The Lancet Regional Health – Europe, used population-scale data to examine how people used health and care services during their final year of life. It found that most people spent their last year at home, but demand for urgent care increased sharply near death.

Those who were registered for palliative care were more likely to receive care from home and experienced shorter emergency hospital stays, suggesting that early registration helps coordinate care more effectively. By contrast, people in care homes used health and care services less overall, regardless of whether they were on the palliative care register.

However, the study also uncovered inequalities in access: men, urban residents, people living alone and those in more deprived communities were less likely to be registered for palliative care.

The findings come amid growing pressure on health and social care systems, and researchers say they highlight the importance of better system-level planning and data-driven approaches to meet rising demand for end-of-life care.

Professor Rhiannon Owen, from Swansea University’s Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science, who led the research, said:

“This work enabling a system-wide evaluation for the entire population of Wales was only made possible by linkage of anonymous health and administrative data facilitated by the SAIL Databank.

Our findings provide a vital evidence-based foundation to support ministerial policy for designing more efficient, compassionate, and equitable end-of-life care in Wales.”