Gateshead’s council leader says there is "work to do" when it comes to palliative care at home
This comes following cross-party resolution to support a ‘Festival of Compassion’ to make residents more at ease discussing death and dying
Last updated 25th Jan 2026
There is “work to do” to allow more people to access palliative care at home if that is what they wish, Gateshead’s council leader has said.
This comes following earlier cross-party resolution to support a ‘Festival of Compassion’ to make residents more at ease discussing death and dying.
Gateshead councillors unanimously passed a motion yesterday backing next month’s event in partnership with the Compassionate Gateshead organisation due to launch next month. A major aim of the festival is to allow people to talk around bereavement.
Following the passing of the motion, Council leader coun Martin Gannon said: “Absolutely delighted that this comes forward because we have got an awful lot of work to do in this area in Gateshead.”
Coun Gannon went on to describe the experience of friends struggling to access palliative care for members of their own family.
Coun Gannon continued: “They just couldn’t get home palliative care. This is not a criticism of our health partners because we need to work together on this. It’s a service provided by the health service rather than the council but regardless, its a partnership we need to work much better and closer together.
“Who wants to die in hospital and not die at home surrounded by family? We have got a long way to go, there 196,000 people in Gateshead and we are all going to have to face this.”
A report by cancer charity Marie Curie in 2023 found “most people want to receive care and die in the community but 24/7 palliative and end of life support in community settings is often inadequate”.
It continued: “Patients and families may need support at home at any time – day or night – yet over a quarter of the UK doesn’t have a designated single point of contact palliative telephone advice line operating out of hours.”