Government pledges to provide legal guidance on 24/7 palliative care

The government has said it will provide guidance on 24/7 provision of palliative care, as part of its response to a report on palliative care services in England.

In its response, published on 19 June 2026, the government said it was “committed” to publishing a modern services framework (MSF) on palliative care to improve access, quality and sustainability of all-age palliative care.

“24/7 provision has been identified as an area of action that can help to achieve our goal of improving palliative care and end-of-life care for all by reducing A&E attendances, non-elective admissions and bed days in last 90 days of life,” it said.

The commitment came in response to a House of Commons Health and Social Care Committee report on palliative care services for children and young people, published in March 2026, which is part of a series of reports under the government’s palliative care inquiry.

In the report, the committee recommended that the MSF “includes specific guidelines and requirements for ICBs [integrated care boards] to enable access to 24/7 [palliative and end-of-life care] services, including access to symptomatic medication, and in-person care where necessary”. 

In its response, the government also noted that it recognised the “vital” role community pharmacy plays in end-of-life care.

“While 24/7 provision of palliative care is not covered by the terms of service requirements for community pharmacies that provide NHS services, local ICBs can, and already do, commission out-of-hours dispensing locally if there is a need for patients to access medicines outside of the core pharmacy hours,” the response added.

“We will continue to work with system partners, the palliative care and end-of-life-care sector and community pharmacy representatives to improve consistency of access, including reviewing what further national support or guidance is needed to reduce unwarranted variation and strengthen out-of-hours medicines access for people nearing the end of life.”

The Health and Social Care Committee also recommended that the government should ensure the planned single patient record is available to all healthcare providers, including social care, voluntary and private providers, as well as set out how the record will be used to help integrate service providers.

In its response, the government said it will “bring forward” legislation to provide a framework for the single patient record.

“The powers we are taking will mean that we can enable all providers of health and social care in England, including private and voluntary sector providers to contribute to, and access, the single patient record, as the programme develops and in line with the prioritised use cases,” it said.

Amandeep Doll, director for England at the Royal College of Pharmacy, welcomed the government’s response.

“Timely access to medicines and support from pharmacy teams must be a core part of any successful model of palliative care. Pharmacists help people manage symptoms, access urgent medicines and receive care in the setting of their choice,” she said.

“We are also pleased to see support for a single patient record. Better sharing of patient information across healthcare services would improve communication, support safer clinical decisions and help deliver more joined-up care.”

Doll added: “Our own position on palliative care aligns with many of the recommendations. Our Daffodil standards provide a quality improvement framework, which helps the whole pharmacy team to improve the care provided to patients needing palliative and end-of-life care.

“As the NHS seeks to deliver more care closer to home through the ten-year health plan, pharmacists must be fully integrated into multidisciplinary teams so patients and their families can access timely, coordinated support when they most need it.”

Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK, commented: “Age UK welcomes the government’s decision to accept the Health and Social Care Committee’s recommendation that the MSF should require ICBs to provide 24/7 access to palliative and end-of-life care services.

“This is a significant and potentially transformational step towards addressing long-standing inequalities in access to high-quality care for people approaching the end of their lives.”

In February 2026, the government responded to an evaluation of palliative care services in England — conducted as part of the inquiry — and stated that it would “strengthen” out-of-hours community support for palliative care services.

The evaluation found patients undergoing palliative or end-of-life care experience “insufficient” 24/7 access to medication and pharmacies.