Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department are taking to reduce emergency hospital admissions involving people who are in the last 12 months of life.

Our 10-Year Health Plan sets out that community-based advice and support will help more people die in their home, while community teams will work closely with care homes and paramedics to share care plans to avoid people being taken to accident and emergency unless absolutely necessary. Those teams can include hospice outreach staff and palliative care professionals. Additionally, rapid response teams will help symptom management, including pain.

The Government is developing a Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England. I refer the Hon. Member to the Written Ministerial Statement HCWS1087, which I gave to the House on 24 November 2025.

NHS England has published universal principles for advanced care planning (ACP). These principles facilitate a consistent national approach to ACP in England. The principles focus on the importance of providing opportunities for a person and their family or carers to engage in meaningful discussions, led by the person concerned, which consider that person’s priorities and preferences, including the place of care, when they are nearing the end of life. The universal principles for ACP are available at the following link:

https://www.england.nhs.uk/publication/universal-principles-for-advance-care-planning/