To ask the Secretary of State for Health what definition his Department uses of (a) palliative and (b) end-of-life-care. (304942)

The Department uses the following definitions, based on those used by the World Health Organisation and the National Council for Palliative Care:

Palliative care is the active holistic care of patients with advanced progressive illness, focusing on the management of pain and other symptoms and the provision of psychological, social and spiritual care; and

End-of-life care is care that helps all those with advanced, progressive, incurable illness to live as well as possible until they die. It enables the supportive and palliative care needs of both patients and family to be identified and met throughout the last phase of life and into bereavement. It includes management of pain and other symptoms and provision of psychological, social, spiritual and practical support.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the (a) median, (b) mean and (c) maximum lifespan of those receiving palliative care. (304945)

This information is not collected centrally.