Giving people a choice

It was established in 1948 – the same year as the NHS – and marks its 60th anniversary in 2008.

Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, they expect to provide care to around 27,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in our hospices this year, along with support for their families.

They mainly care for people with cancer but they also care for people with other life limiting illnesses.

Their services are always free of charge to patients and their families, which means that in 2007-08, they will need to raise more than 115 million.

The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end-of-life care for patients in their own homes.

They have 10 hospices across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and two centres for palliative care research.

They also run the world-renowned Marie Curie Research Institute, which investigates the causes and treatments of cancer.

Since 2004, Marie Curie Cancer Care has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die at home.

Research shows around 70 per cent of people would like to die at home if they had a terminal illness, with a sizeable minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be.

Their campaign – Supporting the Choice to Die at Home – has attracted widespread support from cancer patients and their families , healthcare professionals and politicians from all parties.

In 2004 they launched their first major palliative care service improvement plan, the Marie Curie Delivering Choice Programme, to provide greater choice for patients in end of life care.

The pilot programme, serving in Boston, Lincolnshire was evaluated by the King's Fund in 2007. The King's Fund report showed that Delivering Choice can double

the number of people given the choice to die at home at no extra cost to the tax payer.

The charity's Chief Executive, Thomas Hughes-Hallett sat on the advisory board that fed in to the development of the Government's first ever End of Life Care Strategy, published in July 2008.

The Strategy makes possible a doubling in funding for end of life care by 2011 and draws on lessons leant from the development of The Delivering Choice Programme, including recommending that Every

Primary Care Trust has plans in place for improving the quality of end of life care.

Financially, around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of their funds coming from the NHS.

They also depend on an army of volunteers to support their work in both care and Help Marie Curie to continue providing support and care.