What Needs to Happen?
While the availability of palliative care services has been increasing in Ireland, there are still regions in Ireland without an adult hospice , namely the Midlands and North East. Planning for these additional sites is underway and must be delivered without further delay. The provision of general palliative care needs to be strengthened through investment across all settings, particularly primary care . All healthcare professionals (including GPs and public health nurses) must recognise and understand their role in delivering the core components of palliative care and be upskilled to do so, as noted in the National Adult Palliative Care Policy 16 and outlined in the Palliative Care Competence Framework. Clearer, adequate and more current data on the several impacts (social, financial, emotional, among other) that end of life and dying has on people and their current views, experiences of death and dying is needed. The National End of Life survey was a crucial opportunity to gather important data and should be repeated with further focus on these issues. The implementation plan for the National Adult Palliative Care Policy must be resourced and monitored in order to adequately address the increased demands being placed on our palliative care system.
How Irish Hospice Foundation is Making a Difference
IHF seeks to understand and advocate for what is important to people at the end of life and we communicate our findings to the public and policymakers. • IHF run programmes that support people at end of life, including Hospice Friendly Hospitals, Caru and Nurses for Nightcare and will evaluate all programmes to determine their effectiveness. • We advocate for funding and implementation of the National Adult Palliative Care Policy and contribute directly to the implementation of the policy through our programmes. • We promote and participate in research such as the National End of Life Survey to increase understanding of the evolving landscape of end of life and death in Ireland
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Dying, Death and Bereavement in Ireland 2026
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