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Each UK Government must ensure that there is sustainable funding and effective delivery of palliative care services

The Health and Care Act 2022 introduced a new legal duty for Integrated Care Boards in England (ICBs) to commission palliative and end of life care services. Strong leadership at national level to support the implementation of this duty will be key. In NI, Marie Curie continues to engage with elected representatives and commissioners on the need for a new PEoLC Strategy to address current and future need.

Professional bodies and employers of anyone whose role brings them into contact with bereaved people must ensure they have bereavement training that is culturally-informed, and contextually tailored, including training on complex and traumatic grief, at an appropriate level

Many organisations provide high quality bereavement awareness training, but this does not routinely form part of initial training programmes or inductions. Significant further work is needed to embed appropriate bereavement training across sectors.

To ensure an integrated approach to delivery of care before, during and after a death, governments across the UK must ensure that palliative and end of life care strategies are effectively linked to bereavement support strategies.

Analysis by the National Bereavement Alliance this year indicates that the new legal duty under the Health and Care Act (2022) for Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) in England to commission bereavement services as part of end-of-life care, is not yet widely being prioritised at systems level.