A review of specialist palliative care provision and access across London – mapping the capital

AbstractPalliative care provision varies by diagnosis, geography, and setting. The Minimum Data-set provides high-level data on provision, but comprehensive comparative information about specialist palliative care (SPC) provision is lacking. The London Cancer Alliance – now RM Partners’ Accountable Cancer Network - palliative care group (West/South London) and PallE8 (North/East London), with Marie Curie, sought to address this gap. The aim was to provide comparative data on SPC provision across London to support commissioners and providers to assess provision, identify gaps, and reduce inequity. A data-collection template was developed through expert consensus. Demographic, diagnostic, and service data was collected, plus models of care, staffing levels, and use of clinical outcome/experience measures. Results were collated by organisation and CCG. Cleaned data was provided back to each organisation for verification before final analyses.ResultsAll 50 adult SPC providers in London participated, represent...