Expanding Horizons: Meeting the Growing Need for Palliative Care Beyond Cancer

For decades, palliative care has been closely associated with cancer. While this heritage remains an important and valued part of our identity, the landscape of serious illness is changing rapidly—and so too must our collective response.

Today, people are living longer with a broader range of complex, life‑limiting conditions. Dementia, organ failure, progressive neurological disorders, rare diseases, and multi‑morbid frailty now account for a growing proportion of palliative care need across the UK.

Yet the workforce—across hospices, hospitals, primary care, community teams, care homes, and allied health professions—often tells us the same story: they feel under‑prepared.

Many clinicians report limited training or exposure to non‑malignant conditions, despite these forming a significant and increasing part of their caseloads. Families, too, describe variation in knowledge, confidence, and the ability of services to understand the specific trajectories and challenges that accompany non‑cancer diagnoses.

As a sector committed to equity, compassion, and excellence, we must ensure that palliative and end‑of‑life care expertise is not condition‑specific but person‑centred, inclusive, and universally accessible.

Why the Need Is Growing

Dementia is now the leading cause of death in the UK. Its unpredictable progression challenges traditional models of palliative care.

Chronic organ failure—including heart, liver, renal, respiratory, and gastrointestinal diseases—creates fluctuating patterns of decline, often overlooked until late in the disease course.

Rare and complex neurological conditions, such as Huntington’s disease, rapidly progressive dementias, or persistent disorders of consciousness, require specialised understanding that many teams have had little opportunity to develop.

Increasing multimorbidity and frailty demand a holistic approach, balancing symptom management, psychosocial support, anticipatory care, and meaningful conversations about what matters most.

Meeting these needs is not optional—it is a moral, professional, and societal imperative.

Building a Skilled and Confident Workforce

To ensure that every person receives excellent palliative care—regardless of diagnosis—our workforce must be supported to grow the necessary skills, confidence, and disease‑specific knowledge.

This includes:

▪ Recognising early palliative needs in non‑cancer diagnoses

▪ Understanding symptom profiles unique to complex and rare conditions

▪ Supporting families through prolonged, uncertain trajectories

▪ Working collaboratively across specialties

▪ Maintaining personhood, dignity, and choice throughout care

Education, collaboration, and shared learning lie at the heart of this journey and at St Catherines Hospice Preston we want to support this by hosting a pioneering two‑day national conference dedicated entirely to non‑malignant palliative care:

“Expanding Horizons in Palliative Care: Non‑Malignant Conditions in Focus”

8th & 9th June 2026

Barton Manor Hotel & Spa, Preston (PR3 5AA)

This conference is designed for the whole multidisciplinary workforce—clinicians, allied health professionals, educators, researchers, and those shaping future service delivery.

Whether you are experienced in the field or just beginning to explore non‑malignant palliative care, this event will deepen knowledge, widen perspectives, and support confident, compassionate practice.

Expanding Horizons: Meeting the Growing Need for Palliative Care Beyond Cancer

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