Sector news and member updates

Keep up-to-date with discussions and activity around assisted dying by bookmarking our information page for members.

As part of the 'Being Ready' project, GIRES has developed the Being Ready community journal. This resource is designed to support trans and gender diverse people record their wishes for care, funerals and after death arrangements, while also providing a way to share what matters most with family, friends, or healthcare teams. 

Hospice UK supported in the creation of the resource, along with Marie Curie. 

The team at Kingston University London together with Marie Curie have produced a new end of life planning toolkit for people with a learning disability, as part of the Victoria and Stuart project. Hospice UK was part of the advisory group in the research for this project.

The toolkit includes picture cards and guides for you to use with people with a learning disability who are planning for the end of life. It also includes recording sheets, so you or someone you're supporting can write down and keep their thoughts and wishes.

The resources can be downloaded or ordered in hard copy for free from Marie Curie.

The Impact Centre for Palliative and End-of-Life Care is a new UK-wide initiative, launching in Autumn 2025. The Centre aims to improve outcomes for people affected by dying, death and bereavement by supporting the use of evidence in palliative and end-of-life care practice.

The Centre want to gather insights from across the UK to inform their strategic direction and research focus. They are particularly keen to gather responses from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes to complete. Your responses are anonymous.

As part of the 10 Year Plan for Health, the Department for Health and Social Care invited applications to the National Neighbourhood Health Implementation Programme. Back in July, we shared details on how to apply and encouraged members to explore whether their hospice could join an application locally. 

The first wave of neighbourhood health services has been announced, with 43 place-level neighbourhood health service sites confirmed.

We are keen to hear from any members who were part of a successful bid. If this includes your hospice, please email our policy team.

The Scottish Government has published a new five year strategy for palliative care.

The strategy sets out two overarching aims:

• Enabling people and communities: Scotland is a place where people of all ages and their communities can help and support each other to live as well as possible with life shortening conditions, dying, death and bereavement.
• Strengthening palliative care: People of all ages with life shortening conditions and their families and carers receive palliative care, care around dying and bereavement support based on what matters to them.

We have welcomed the strategy as a starting point but have called for bolder action to drive forward urgent reforms, invest in palliative care to meet rising demand and deliver sustainable hospice funding.

Read our response