Scotland must rethink its approach to caring for older and dying people in order to avert a "crisis", campaigners have said.
A new report by a coalition of organisations has made a series of recommendations for improving the delivery of health and social care for people living with a terminal illness and their carers.
Read more: Nicola Sturgeon backs Age Scotland's festive campaign
Marie Curie, the Association of Palliative Care Social Workers, Hospice UK and MND Scotland say too many people are missing out on specialist end-of-life care and co-ordinated, creative solutions are needed to tackle the challenge of an ageing population amid increasing pressure on public funds.
The report said: "We are concerned that these many challenges cannot be met now, or in the future, solely by finding more money for more statutory services. Scotland faces a crisis in caring for older and dying people."
It highlights that of the 57,500 people who die in Scotland each year, 80% would benefit from some form of palliative care but 25% of those will not receive the necessary services.
In 2015, a total of 276 people died while waiting for their social care packages to start while others waited over a year.
The report also identifies a "postcode lottery" for personal care charging for those under 65 who have a condition not seen as terminally-ill.
Among the recommendations is a call for social care packages to start immediately when they are needed and be adaptable to changes, as well as for improved sharing of patient information between health and social care teams.
The organisations want an end to social care charges for people living with any terminal illness, including those under the age of 65 and the fast-tracking of devolved benefits for patients and their carers.
Health and social care staff should also be given improved palliative care and bereavement training to help them lead sensitive conversations about death and dying.
Read more: Call for Scots migraine patients to get Botox on NHS
Susan Lowes, Marie Curie's policy and public affairs manager for Scotland, said: "Three in ten people in hospital are in their last year of life and one in ten people will die in hospital during their current hospital stay.
"Often, people will go into hospital for a medical reason but it is waiting for the right social care that stops them from leaving again.
"When people have a terminal illness, time is short and many don't have the time to wait for delayed care packages.
"Good social care support can prevent unnecessary admissions, prevent people dying in hospital and prevent delayed discharges."
Eilidh Macdonald, policy and advocacy manager Scotland at Hospice UK, said: "Swift and responsive social care is an integral part of supporting someone to live well as they are approaching their last days or living with a terminal or life-shortening illness.
"It enables choice and independence at a time that has the potential to be distressing and isolating for people and their loved ones.
"Unfortunately, not everyone's palliative and end-of-life needs are met. One in four people who die in Scotland every year do not receive the care that they need.
"We have to tackle the barriers affecting all aspects of someone's care.
"As a society, we have a responsibility to make sure this support is available when and where it is needed."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here