Two Plaid Cymru Members of the Senedd have backed calls for the Government in Wales to improve out-of-hours palliative care.

Peredur Owen Griffiths and Delyth Jewell have said people with cancer and their families need – and deserve - to have access to a helpline 24 hours a day.

The calls have been made by cancer charity Marie Curie who said that people in their last year of life make 30,000 ‘out-of-hours' emergency visits to A&E each year in Wales.

They also found that women aged under 65 who live in deprived communities are more likely to need an emergency out-of-hours visit to A&E in their last year of life.

Access to good quality palliative and end of life care in the community can help dying people to stay at home if that is their preference.

Peredur said: “It is unreasonable to expect people with cancer to only require the support and care they need during office hours.

“Each health board should have a dedicated phone line operating seven days a week and 24 hours a day so that someone is on hand to offer support and services at the point that they are first needed.

“This would not only be the compassionate thing to do for people with cancer and their families but it would also ease the pressure on A&E departments that have had well-documented capacity issues.

“The Labour Health Minister should act upon this as a matter of urgency.”

Delyth also called on the Labour Government to tackle the adverse impact that deprivation has on people with cancer.

“We need a long-term action plan led by the Labour Government to improve end of life care,” said Delyth.

“Within that plan, there needs to be a strategy to tackle the inequalities facing women in palliative and end of life care.

“We should not accept a situation where there is a post code lottery when it comes to health outcomes.

“This can be tackled by including a strategy to tackle health inequalities in the forthcoming 10-year Women and Girl’s Health plan.”

Natasha Wynne, Marie Curie Cymru Senior Policy Manager said: “There is a real opportunity in Wales to sort out the problems with out-of-hours care through the implementation of the recent palliative and end of life care Quality Statement.

“This says that everyone, regardless of where they live, should have 24/7 single point of access to co-ordinated care, medication, and advice about end-of-life care.”

Delyth and Peredur also urged people to support Marie Curie by hosting their own ‘Daffodil Day’ to raise vital funds by handing out the charity’s iconic daffodil pins in return for donations.

Anyone wishing to host a Daffodil Day will get support from Marie Curie’s fundraising team as soon as they sign up to volunteer, and all the money raised will help Marie Curie continue to provide vital end of life care for terminally ill people and their families during their final days, weeks and months.

If you’re interested in taking part in the Great Daffodil Appeal or hosting a Daffodil Day as an individual, community group, school or business across South Wales East, contact your community fundraiser Anna-Marie Jones 07753 271543 or [email protected] to chat about your idea, request an information pack or sign up to a collection or visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/daffodil

To sign up to the National Day of Reflection visit www.mariecurie.org.uk/dayofreflection