Health boards and hospices should follow a consistent national policy on the resuscitation of dying patients, MSPs said today.

Health boards and hospices should follow a consistent national policy on the resuscitation of dying patients, MSPs said today.

The call came from a Holyrood committee which also urged the Government to improve the collection of data on "palliative care" - services for the terminally-ill and those nearing the end of their lives.

The recommendations came in a report published by the Public Audit Committee.

An earlier report on palliative care last August by the Auditor General for Scotland found inconsistencies for different illnesses, and variations in palliative care across Scotland.

It found that 90% of specialist care was delivered to cancer patients although the disease accounts for fewer than 30% of deaths.

The Scottish Government published its own action plan for palliative care in October.

This promised extra cash, better education and training, and speedy care plans for patients.

The action plan also called for health boards to implement consistent "Do Not Attempt Resuscitation" (DNAR) policies.

Today's Holyrood report said: "The committee believes that a single DNAR policy, consistently applied across all care settings, is essential if patients' wishes are to be respected and implemented.

"The committee therefore welcomes the action points on DNAR within the Scottish Government's action plan.

"However the committee recommends that the Scottish Government ensure that the DNAR policy which is developed and adopted by boards is a consistent national policy."

Committee convener and Labour MSP Hugh Henry said: "The committee believes that a single policy on DNAR is essential if patients' wishes are to be respected and implemented."

The committee report also said health boards should be more consistent when commissioning palliative care services from organisations like voluntary bodies, to ensure value for money.

And the Scottish Government should improve its process of data collection, in order to better plan for and monitor how services are delivered across Scotland.

Mr Henry said: "We recommend that the Scottish Government issues guidance to health boards on what should be included in their funding allocation to voluntary sector bodies."

The Auditor General will also be asked to check health boards' local plans to ensure they comply with the Scottish Government action plan.