Committee publication · Correspondence · 13 July 2026
Letter from Paula Sussex CBE, Ombudsman and Chair, PHSO on the PHSO Report - Conversations that matter most: improving communication in end-of-life care, dated 7.7.26
From: Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee
Inquiry: The work and performance of the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
Summary
Paula Sussex, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, writes to the PAC Committee to share a report on communication failures in end-of-life care. The report, based on casework, identifies breakdowns between clinicians and patients, families, and care teams. It recommends government and NHS action on palliative care training, outcome measures for end-of-life services, and Single Patient Record integration.
Key findings
- Communication failures in end-of-life care undermine care quality and family experience, including breakdowns between clinicians and patients, in family communication, and between teams across care settings
- Government and NHS should define a detailed strategy in the Modern Service Framework addressing skills and confidence gaps in conversations about death, dying, and palliative care
- Clear outcome measures for end-of-life care services should be developed, centred on patient and family experience
- End-of-life care should be prioritised in the rollout of the Single Patient Record
- Complaints data represents a valuable source of insight into policy and service failures across the NHS
Tone
FactualTopics
Key actors
Paula Sussex CBE, Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO), Simon Hoare MP, Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee, NHS, Government
Notable line
“These failures undermine the quality of care and the experience of patients and families at the time that matters most.”
Key Quotes
“The report draws on our casework and is focussed on where communication breaks down in end of life care, including between clinicians and patients, in communication with families and carers, and in information sharing between teams and care settings.”
“This report focuses on end of life care but demonstrates the wider value of complaints as a source of insight into policy and service failures.”
Source · parliament.uk record ↗