NHS failing to provide end-of-life care allowing terminally ill children to die at home

Aug 28, 2026

Seriously ill children in England are being denied the chance to die at home because 15 of the NHS's 42 integrated care boards fail to commission legally mandated 24-hour at-home end-of-life care. This systemic gap forces dying children into hospitals, while a separate UK-wide poll reveals that 55% of healthcare staff have had to deliver end-of-life treatment in undignified hospital corridors due to severe staffing shortages. In Derbyshire, a statutory review found that service deficiencies contributed to 86% of reviewed child deaths in 2024-25.

At-home paediatric end-of-life care

▪The NHS in many parts of England is failing to provide the community care required to allow seriously ill children to die at home.
▪Approximately 1,600 children with life-limiting conditions die each year in England.
▪The number of children under 19 in England with life-limiting conditions has almost trebled since the 2003-04 period, reaching nearly 89,000.

Integrated care board commissioning gaps

▪Under the Health and Care Act 2022, the 42 integrated care boards in England are legally obligated to ensure 24-hour end-of-life care is provided at home for dying children.
▪Only 13 of England's 42 integrated care boards were able to demonstrate that they commission 24-hour at-home end-of-life care for children.
▪Freedom of information requests by the charity Together for Short Lives revealed that 15 of England's 42 integrated care boards do not commission 24-hour at-home end-of-life care for children.

Corridor-based palliative care provision

▪A joint poll by Marie Curie and Nursing Standard of 1,153 UK healthcare professionals found that 55% had delivered end-of-life treatment in hospital corridors or non-clinical areas.
▪Among surveyed healthcare staff, 72.2% identified inadequate staffing numbers and 56.2% identified time deficits as major constraints to delivering end-of-life treatment.
▪Over 70% of surveyed healthcare professionals reported that delivering palliative care in unsuitable environments damages patient dignity and causes deep distress to families.

Advance care planning failures

▪Marie Curie is urging the UK Government to use the proposed Health Bill to mandate a unified patient file accessible to all end-of-life providers.
▪Marie Curie reported widespread flaws in advance care planning, which generate uncertainty regarding patients' wishes during their final days.

Inappropriate resuscitation attempts

▪Over one-third of nursing staff surveyed by Marie Curie and Nursing Standard reported witnessing resuscitation attempts they considered completely inappropriate.
▪A healthcare practitioner recalled resuscitation being attempted on a terminally ill cancer patient who ultimately died on a bathroom floor.

Derbyshire service deficiencies

▪In Derbyshire, 86% of the 65 child death cases reviewed in 2024-25 identified service provision factors, such as staffing and bed shortages, as contributory factors.
▪The Derby and Derbyshire Child Death Overview Panel warned that families urgently need improvements to paediatric end-of-life care following years of unaddressed concerns.
▪The Derby and Derbyshire Child Death Overview Panel identified gaps in child palliative care provision dating back to 2020, following the case of a young person with terminal bone cancer who was unable to die at home.