Debate contribution: Inquiry into Access to Palliative Care Services

Debate contribution by Mrs Linda Dillon on 2 December 2025.

MLA

Mrs Linda Dillon

Party at the time

Sinn Féin

Date

2 December 2025

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Committee Business

Heading

Inquiry into Access to Palliative Care Services

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5272232

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I welcome the publication of the report. I commend all those who contributed to the inquiry — patients and their families, and staff in the statutory and voluntary sectors — and all those who took time to tell their stories. The evidence given to the Committee was powerful and often very emotional, particularly for those of us on the Committee who have been affected and understand this issue all too well, which was almost all of us. When people do not receive the palliative support that they need, it is not an inconvenience; it is a trauma. We heard at first hand about that trauma. It is suffering that is avoidable and unacceptable. Families told us of loved ones left without care packages; without help to eat or move; without proper symptom or pain management; and without access to medicines out of hours. They described the fear, exhaustion and guilt that is felt when the health system withdraws and the responsibility falls entirely on them and those who support them. That is harm, and it damages people long after those final days. One of the clearest messages in the report is that palliative care does not mean dying. It is not something that belongs only in the last hours of a person's life. Palliative care is about living with dignity. It is about pain control, nutrition, mobility supports, emotional and spiritual care, support for carers and families and enabling people, where possible, to remain at home if that is their wish. The report's recommendations on advance care planning, recording emotional and spiritual well-being through Encompass and supporting families though a 24/7 point of access all speak directly to that wider, holistic understanding of palliative care. The submissions from hospice groups and professionals made that crystal clear. Despite the dedication and compassion of staff, access to palliative care remains deeply unequal across the North. The report outlines long waits for services, workforce shortages, limited community provision and significant gaps in out-of-hours care. It highlights the particular challenges that are faced by people in rural and border areas, who cannot depend on timely or consistent support. For Sinn Féin, that reinforces the need for an all-island approach. Today, in the Long Gallery, we listened to Fintan Fagan, chair of the All Ireland Institute of Hospice and Palliative Care. He was very clear in how he wants to provide support. He was very good in coming to the Committee and assisting us, and he was very clear, Minister, that he will help your Department and your officials to set up an implementation framework. All of that is to be welcomed, because we understand that your Department and officials are under severe pressure. We want to see an all-island approach in which people living in border communities can access services seamlessly; expertise, specialist teams and data are shared; and palliative care is planned on the basis of need rather than geography. Recommendation 21c calls on the Minister to examine cross-border cooperation to make access easier for rural communities. We fully support that direction. The inquiry also highlighted something that we cannot ignore: the South has fully funded hospices, which has reduced the reliance on fundraising to deliver essential services. We need to move in that direction. I assure you that families in our community will continue to fundraise, which will allow our hospices to do what the likes of the St Francis Hospice have been able to do: improve their facilities where they have people —.

Absolutely.

I thank the Member for the intervention. The report is explicit in recommendation 3: the Department must move to 100% funding for hospice services, standardised contracts and long-term financial certainty. That recommendation is welcome and long overdue. I understand that such action requires funding, but the people who are affected are ending up in our hospitals, where they should not be. The inquiry makes it absolutely clear that palliative care must be treated as core health care and be fully funded, fully staffed, coordinated across trusts and backed by legislation. It needs proper workforce planning; investment in community teams; improved access to medicines; a single, 24/7 point of contact for families; better training across the system; and a new regional strategy that finally meets the growing needs of our population. The report points towards that direction of travel, and we support that. We want to see a system that gives people comfort, dignity and choice rather than fear, delay and bureaucracy. I thank the Committee staff for all their work. Importantly, I also thank the families who shared their experiences with honesty and courage, and those who shared their lived experience, such as Christine Campbell, who was mentioned earlier in the debate. Their voices remind us that this is not an abstract policy debate: it is about people in their most vulnerable moments. As we reflect on what the report demands of us, I am reminded of the words of Ann Richardson, a writer whose work on hospice care captures the heart of the issue:

"We cannot change the outcome, but we can affect the journey".

That simple truth lies at the heart of the report. The responsibility on all of us is to ensure that every person's journey is shaped by dignity, compassion and proper support — not fear. I absolutely concur: all of the Executive —

— and all of us MLAs should support the Minister in implementing the recommendations.

905 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

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Assessed 21 October 2026 at 14:07 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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