Britain's palliative care is outdated and needs urgent modernisation to be able to cope with an ageing population, a hospice boss has said.

James Sanderson, Chief Executive at Sue Ryder, one of the largest hospice groups in the UK, suggested reforms such as virtual wards to provide at-home care and palliative care teams in hospital A&E departments.

He said the Government's plan must deliver as the "palliative care sector is crying out for reform".

The comments come following the Public Accounts Committee's warning that the hospice sector is facing a "serious financial situation" and that too many people are dying in hospital rather than at home or in hospice care.

According to the cross-party report, independent hospices save the NHS an estimated £800million each year, and while hospices spend approximately £1.2billion a year on care, they receive only around £420million from integrated care boards (ICBs).

Mr Sanderson told the Express: "We urgently need more funding for palliative and end life care. And it's clear that the resources available at the moment will not meet the demands that we have now, let alone the demand in the future of an ageing population.

"But I think there's a more complex issue that isn't just about extra cash, because the extra cash needs to be within a system of reform.

"The palliative care sector needs to urgently reform its approach and really modernise the way it delivers care for people."

Around 42% of people still die in hospital, with at least a third of all hospital beds occupied by those in their last year of life. Mr Sanderson thinks this situation will be a challenge to change because when people are in crisis, they naturally turn to emergency services, and the NHS largely focuses on downstream support, responding to urgent problems once they occur. To solve the issue, he urged for earlier intervention and care that can be addressed from home through modern services.

He said: "The first thing is we need is a community-first approach to palliative care, and that community-first approach contains things like virtual wards, and provides single points of access 24/7 for people and offers community services."

Palliative care virtual wards deliver hospital-level support at home, helping patients avoid admission. With remote monitoring, regular nurse visits and specialist teams, they can quickly manage symptoms, adjust treatment and help more people stay where they want to be.

The next important step, he said, is supporting people in hospital more effectively. As so many people still die in hospital, the Government needs to "put palliative care staff in the hospital, in the A&E department to help people that require palliative care support."

He added: "The third area is better planning. We need to identify more people who are entering their last few years of life, and we need to undertake advanced care planning in order to support them and to make sure that we're meeting their wishes."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "This Government has made the biggest investment in hospices in a generation, £125million, to improve hospice facilities, freeing other funding for patient care, and has also committed £80million for children's and young people's hospices over three years.

"We will soon set out our plans to modernise and improve the palliative and end of life care sector, as we shift more healthcare out of hospitals and into the community, with hospices playing a central role in delivering care closer to home."

Demand for palliative and end-of-life care is rising as people live longer and often have more complex health needs. By 2050, one in four people in the UK is expected to be aged 65 or over, and demand for palliative care in England and Wales is projected to rise by 25% to 47% by 2040.

In November 2025, the government acknowledged the pressure on the sector and said it was developing a new Palliative Care and End of Life Care Modern Service Framework for England, due to be published in spring 2026.

This week, Care Minister Stephen Kinnock has set out the Neighbourhood Health Framework as part of plans to build "an NHS fit for the future", shifting care from hospitals into communities, while prioritising prevention and digital innovation.