Marie Curie, the UK’s leading end-of-life charity, has awarded funding to six new research projects aiming to improve palliative and end-of-life care in, and upon discharge from, hospitals.
The six projects address a range of issues from improving communication and advance care planning on discharge from hospital to community, to palliative care practices for people living with frailty.
A research team led by Dr Lucy Pocock and Professor Lucy Selman at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, are recipients of joint funding from Marie Curie and Leeds Hospitals Charity for one of the projects. The Bridging the Gap study will focus on improving how important information is shared between hospitals and GPs when people with serious, life-limiting illness are discharged.
When someone with a serious, life-limiting illness leaves hospital, their GP and community healthcare team need to understand their condition, what matters most to them, and any plans for their care. Advance Care Planning (ACP) helps people set out those wishes with the people close to them and with healthcare professionals. But records of ACP discussions are often not passed on clearly at discharge, leaving community teams without the information they need to continue these conversations and coordinate care.
These problems disproportionately affect some groups. Previous research by the study team found that older people, people from minoritised ethnic communities and people living in more deprived areas were less likely to have timely, high-quality care plans.
Bridging the Gap aims to address these problems. The team will observe how discharges happen, interview patients, carers and health professionals, and work with them to design practical tools that help hospital staff communicate with GPs and community services about patients' needs, wishes and future care, so those conversations can carry on once someone is home.
Dr Lucy Pocock, GP and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Doctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, said: “By improving communication between hospital and primary care, we hope to make it easier for healthcare professionals to work together and ensure patients receive coordinated, person-centred care. Ultimately, this will help more patients receive care that reflects what matters most to them and provide greater reassurance for families during a difficult time.”
Dr Sabine Best, Associate Director, Research Management and Impact at Marie Curie, said: “Too many people miss out on the support they need at the end of life. This research will help build the evidence base on how we can support people at the end of life as they transition from hospital to community care, ensuring everyone with palliative care needs receives high quality, coordinated care when it matters most, wherever they are and whoever they are.
“While only 6% of people in England and Wales say they would prefer to die in hospital, more than 40% of deaths still occur there. All our newly funded projects aim to address important evidence gaps for palliative and end-of-life care in, and upon discharge from, hospital that have been highlighted by people with lived and professional experience. Our aim is for palliative and end of life care to reach more people, and to close the gap in end-of-life care.”
Rebecca Baldaro-Booth, Director of Grants and Impact, Leeds Hospitals Charity, said: “Too many people are still missing out on the care and support they need at the end of life, and often individual needs are identified too late. Through joint funding of this project, we’re investing in research that can help spot needs earlier, improve coordination between hospital and community care, and tackle persistent inequalities in access. By working alongside clinicians, researchers and people with lived experience, evidence can be turned into practical solutions that ensure everyone can receive high-quality, compassionate care when and where it matters most.”
Marie Curie is the largest charitable funder of palliative and end of life care research in the UK. Through funding projects like this, the charity aims to improve care for people living with serious illness and support better experiences at the end of life.
To find out more about the funded projects, visit https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/research-and-policy/research/projects