My family was thrown into distress when my father suddenly fell ill last year, eventually diagnosed with Glioblastoma, a form of brain tumour with insidious prognosis. Our attempts to care for him at home were heavy and harrowing primarily due to the lack of health support "out of hours". No family should face such trauma when caring for terminal-ill loved ones. 

This currently seems to be a healthcare postcode lottery, as some areas do have 24 hour District Nurses.

We were so ill-informed throughout the whole horrible nightmare and this was one of the things we weren't fully informed about when getting ready to take dad home to care for him in his own surroundings. Some nights calling 111 and them never following "the palliative protocol" or calling ambulances although as we needed was someone to administer the "when required" medication that we had but could not administer as we were not trained.

I propose a change in our healthcare system to ensure that all palliative patients living at home have access to professional healthcare providers 24 hours a day who can administer the necessary medication as required. This is not an isolated issue. According to the World Health Organization, around 40 million people require palliative care annually worldwide, and 78% of them live in low-and-middle-income countries. 

Only with immediate action can we provide effective palliative care where and when it is needed, improving the quality of life for both the patients and their families at one of the toughest times in their lives. If you believe in the dignity and comfort of all those like my father, enduring their last passages at home - please, sign this petition. Together, we can foster a healthcare system ready to comfort at any hour.