Bill · started in the Commons
Palliative Care Bill
A Bill to confer on patients a right to choose where to receive palliative care; and for connected purposes.
In progress
Current stage: 2nd reading (Commons)
The story so farThe Palliative Care Bill was introduced in the House of Commons on 21 January 2009 by Mrs Caroline Spelman (Conservative). It is now at second reading in the House of Commons. Second reading is the first debate on the overall principle of the bill; if the bill clears it, detailed committee scrutiny follows.
What the bill does
The Bill would make provision for patients to request where they received palliative care: in a hospital or specialist hospital, in a hospice or at home. It would require the relevant NHS body to take all reasonable steps to fulfil such requests. The Bill also makes provision for regulations governing standards of palliative care, which is defined in the Bill as 'care given with the intention of improving the quality of life of persons with a terminal illness.'
Progress through Parliament
- 1st reading Commons 21 Jan 2009
- 2nd reading Commons 24 Apr 2009
Source: the official bill page. Last updated 14 Oct 2009.