Visit our end-of-life care reading room for information and resources on improving the quality of life for people facing the impact of end of life.

The challenge

To deliver projects that will improve the quality of life for dependent adults and their carers facing the impact of end of life.

Recognition of the need for good-quality end-of-life or palliative care has increased over recent years, with greater resources committed by government, and a high profile given to palliative care in the NHS Cancer Plan. It has been an area of health where much of the pioneering work has been led by the voluntary sector, and today, large charitable agencies work closely with the statutory sector to deliver end-of-life care in a range of settings.

Those diagnosed with terminal cancer have been the main beneficiaries of service improvements, but access to care can be patchy for many other groups, including people with learning disabilities and those with mental health problems. End-of-life care has traditionally taken a holistic approach, encompassing clinical, emotional, practical and spiritual interventions for those who are dying, as well as for their carers and families.

We are interested in end-of-life care projects that deliver practical and emotional support to families where there is a dependent adult who is either in the process of dying, or their primary care-giver is dying. By dependent adult, we mean:

• someone who has a learning disability
• a person who, because of a long-term disability, is dependent on others living at home
• someone with long-term mental health problems.

We recognise that the impact of death on these families and individuals may be particularly great. For the dependent person, the death of a carer might mean loss of a home, security and familiar faces. The death of the person who is being cared for may trigger profound feelings of bereavement in the carer, who has to come to terms with the loss of a role they may have played for many years.

We are specifically interested in projects involving end-of-life care for patients who are showing signs of deterioration and experiencing more severe periods of illness, which suggest that death may be expected within the following year. We are not interested in general palliative (that is, pain relief) services.

Your proposal should specify the particular condition that your project will tackle. We will not accept proposals for projects that will focus on end-of-life care for patients or carers suffering solely from cancer. Also we will not fund general carers' projects.

• How to apply
• Health areas and challenges
• Contact the Funding and Development team
• Other sources of funding

• Palliative care: Perspectives on caring for dying people
• Psychosocial Support for Dying People - What can primary care trusts do?