End-of-life care must be fixed before any assisted dying legislation, charities say
Three and a half years ago, Tim Daly was given just a few months to live. Born with learning disabilities, he later developed cancer, which kept returning.
Despite being very sick, Tim can still live at home with his mum Valerie, because of support from his palliative care nurse Phoebe Mooney.
“It’s really sad to see him deteriorate,” Phoebe says during a visit to Tim.
Tim Daly, who lives at home with his mother Valerie
“When I first started seeing him he was independently mobile in his wheelchair. He would take lots of videos. He’d be super, super chatty.”
It is clear Tim and Phoebe share a special bond, but working in such an emotionally demanding role can be challenging.
“I’m not going to lie, I do cry quite a lot at work,” Phoebe says. “Particularly when things don’t go so well, which they don’t at times.”
Phoebe Mooney, Tim’s palliative care nurse
Tim’s mother Valerie Daly is 82 and says she wouldn’t be able to keep Tim at home without the support she gets from St Christopher’s Hospice in Sydenham, southeast London, where Phoebe works.
“I couldn’t do this without them,” she says. “It’s just knowing that there’s somebody there. Somebody who cares. Somebody who knows Tim.”
The support Valerie and Tim get is far from guaranteed across the UK.
As MPs consider legalising assisted dying, with a bill being introduced to parliament today, the quality of the country’s end-of-life care is being questioned.
“It’s really important we’re talking about funding for hospices at the same time,” says Jan Noble, the director of quality and innovation at St Christopher’s.
Jan Noble, the director of quality and innovation at St Christopher’s Hospice
“Because people need to know that they’re going to get the right symptom control and support if they are approaching the end of life. And actually it’s not all about assisted dying.
“People are fearful because at the moment hospices throughout the country haven’t got the adequate funding, which means care can be a postcode lottery.”
St Christopher’s Hospice neither supports nor opposes a change in the law, but the hospice sector is a strong voice in the debate.
Residents at St Christopher’s Hospice
Hospices rely on charity to survive, with the government providing only around a third of their funding.
The sector has concerns about whether the health system could cope with the additional pressure that assisted dying would bring.
“While it’s not for us to take a view either way, what we would say is that this is a very fundamental change to consider introducing into a system which is already under really significant stress,” says Charlie King, deputy director of external affairs at Hospice UK.
Charlie King, deputy director of external affairs at Hospice UK
“We’ve got hospices who are cutting back their services already, making frontline staff redundant, because they’re no longer able to fund those services.
“Whether or not assisted dying is introduced by this government, we must fix the end-of-life care system in the UK,” he said.
“This government has inherited huge challenges in the hospice sector, as well as a £22bn black hole in the public finances, so these problems will take time to fix,” a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Social Care said.
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“Whilst the majority of palliative and end-of-life care is provided by the NHS, we recognise the vital role voluntary organisations including hospices play in providing support to people at end of life and their families.
“We are determined to shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, to ensure patients and their families receive personalised care in the most appropriate setting, and hospices will have a big role to play in that shift.”
Lynda Browne, 59, has experienced the best and worst of end-of-life care.
Lynda Browne, whose mother and aunt had very difference experiences of palliative care
Her mother died peacefully and comfortably at a Marie Curie Hospice, but her aunt Mary chose to die at home and Lynda was devastated by the lack of care she received.
“We had to buy her incontinence pads, we had to buy different creams because the deliveries weren’t regular or there was nothing available or you couldn’t get through,” she says.
Lynda’s aunt (left) and mother who both received palliative care
“We had to chase everyone for everything and it’s just so tiring all the time having to fight.”
It’s a problem palliative care doctors say needs to be urgently addressed.
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“We only get partial funding from the NHS,” says Dr Sarah Wells, medical director for the Marie Curie Hospice West Midlands.
“We’re having to rely on fun runs and bake sales and our charity shops to raise money to provide great end-of-life care for people.”
Marie Curie, like St Christopher’s and Hospice UK, has a neutral position on assisted dying.
“We need to be talking about death, dying and bereavement,” says Dr Wells. “What we’re not neutral on is the need for sustainable funding.”
Nigel Farage has told Sky News he “can’t be pushed or bullied” by anybody after Elon Musk said the Reform MP “doesn’t have what it takes” to lead his party.
In an interview with Sky’s political correspondent Ali Fortescue, Mr Farage said he has spoken with the billionaire owner of X since his criticism on 5 January, when Mr Musk said: “The Reform Party needs a new leader. Farage doesn’t have what it takes.”
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Asked if the pair are still friends, Mr Farage said: “Of course we’re friends. He just says what he thinks at any moment in time.”
He added he has “been in touch” with Mr Musk, though wouldn’t divulge what they had discussed.
“Look, he said lots of supportive things. He said one thing that wasn’t supportive. I mean, that’s just the way it is,” Mr Farage said.
Musk and Farage met in December. Pic: PA
Asked if he was afraid to criticise the tech mogul, the Clacton MP said the situation was “the opposite”, and he openly disagreed with Mr Musk on his views on far-right activist Tommy Robinson.
Mr Farage said: “What he [Musk] was saying online was that effectively Tommy Robinson was a political prisoner and I wouldn’t go along with that.
“If I had gone along with that, he wouldn’t have put out a tweet that was against me.
“By the way, you know, I can’t be pushed or bullied or made to change by anybody.
“I stick to what I believe.”
Mr Musk has endorsed Robinson and claimed he was “telling the truth” about grooming gangs, writing on X: “Free Tommy Robinson”.
But Mr Farage said that Robinson, who is serving an 18-month jail term for contempt of court, isn’t welcome in Reform UK and neither are his supporters.
He said: “If people within Reform think Tommy Robinson should be a member of Reform and play a central role in Reform, that disagreement is absolutely fundamental.
“I’ve never wanted to work with people who were active in the BNP. I’ve made that clear right throughout the last decade of my on/off political career. So that’s what the point of difference is.”
Despite their disagreement, Mr Farage said he is confident Mr Musk will continue to support Reform and “may well” still give money to it.
The entrepreneur has previously spoken positively about Reform UK and there have been suggestions he could make a multi-million-pound donation in its favour.
Devolution plans ‘denial of democracy’
Mr Farage was speaking from Reform’s South East of England Conference, one of a series of regional events aimed at building up the party’s support base.
Elsewhere in the interview, he hit out at the Labour government’s devolution plans which could see some local elections scheduled for May postponed.
This would apply when councils seek permission to reorganise, so that smaller district authorities merge with other nearby ones to give them more sway over their area.
Mr Farage, who is hoping to make gains in the spring contests, claimed the plans are not about devolution but about “elections being cancelled”.
“I thought only dictators cancelled elections. This is unbelievable and devolution or a change to local government structures is being used as an excuse,” he said.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage earlier this month. Pic: PA
He claimed Tory-controlled councils are “grabbing it like it’s a life belt”, because they fear losing seats to Reform.
“It’s an absolute denial of democracy,” he added.
Mr Farage was also asked why many Reform members don’t like to speak on camera about why they support his party.
He said he did not accept there was a toxicity associated with Reform and claimed there was “institutional bias against anybody that isn’t left of centre”.
Specialist search teams, police dogs and divers have been dispatched to find two sisters who vanished in Aberdeen three days ago.
Eliza and Henrietta Huszti, both 32, were last seen on CCTV in the city’s Market Street at Victoria Bridge at about 2.12am on Tuesday.
The siblings were captured crossing the bridge and turning right onto a footpath next to the River Dee in the direction of Aberdeen Boat Club.
Henrietta Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Eliza Huszti. Pic: Police Scotland
Police Scotland has launched a major search and said it is carrying out “extensive inquires” in an effort to find the women.
Chief Inspector Darren Bruce said: “Local officers, led by specialist search advisors, are being assisted by resources including police dogs and our marine unit.”
Aberdeenshire Drone Services told Sky News it has offered to help in the search and is waiting to hear back from Police Scotland.
CCTV of the sisters. Pic: Police Scotland
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The sisters, from Aberdeen city centre, are described as slim with long brown hair.
Police said the Torry side of Victoria Bridge where the sisters were last seen contains many commercial and industrial units, with searches taking place in the vicinity.
The force urged businesses in and around the South Esplanade and Menzies Road area to review CCTV footage recorded in the early hours of Tuesday in case it captured anything of significance.
Drivers with relevant dashcam footage are also urged to come forward.
CI Bruce added: “We are continuing to speak to people who know Eliza and Henrietta and we urge anyone who has seen them or who has any information regarding their whereabouts to please contact 101.”
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