Liz McInnes pledges support to Marie Curie campaign

Jon Culshaw, Liz McInnes MP, Marie Curie nurse

Liz McInnes MP, Labour Member of Parliament for Heywood and Middleton, has pledged to champion the concerns of local people with a terminal illness by lending her support to Marie Curie’s campaign calling for the right for everyone to have palliative care when they need it.

Ms McInnes teamed up with Marie Curie Nurse Sally Monger-Godfrey and impressionist Jon Culshaw to back the campaign from the UK’s leading charity for people living with any terminal illness and their families.

Ms McInnes said: "I’m very pleased to support this campaign. I have previously spoken on the need for better palliative care and I will continue to do all I can to bring pressure on the government to ensure patients have access to high quality end-of-life care on the NHS."

The campaign comes as Marie Curie revealed that more than half of people over the age of 50 in the UK – of whom there are 26 million - are not confident that they will get the care they need towards the end of their life.

Currently, one in four people each year who need palliative care miss out on it because their needs are not recognised and they are not referred on to the right services. To prevent this figure from increasing, Marie Curie is calling for a change in the way care is provided.

Scott Sinclair, Head of Policy & Public Affairs for England at Marie Curie, said: "We are incredibly grateful to Liz for supporting Marie Curie’s campaign. More needs to be done to ensure that people with a terminal illness get access to the high quality care and support they need and deserve. Making this a reality also requires support at a national level. The Government can play its part by investing in palliative and end of life care services to help transform the way care is provided locally to people with a terminal illness now and in the future."

If you or someone you’re close to has a terminal illness, you can call the Marie Curie Support Line on 0800 090 2309 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm or visit mariecurie.org.uk/help.