Blueprint outlines plans to reform end-of-life care

MPs, doctors and charities have drawn up a blueprint to deliver an . "unprecedented transformation" of care for 100,000 people a year in the final stages of their lives.

- Denis Campbell, Jessica Elgot and Aletha Adu

After parliament's historic vote last week to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales, a commission on palliative care has been set up to help improve end-of-life care. The Guardian has seen the details of its ambition that every dying person gets high-quality medical and emotional support, and it understands that ex-prime minister Gordon Brown has backed the plan.

The commission's creation comes as experts warn that ramping up end-of-life care and offering assisted dying will pose challenges for the NHS: where such services will be provided, which staff will be involved and how much it will cost. Palliative care is now provided by a combination of the NHS, hospices and charities but it is subject to what critics say is a postcode lottery. At least 100,000 people a year are estimated to miss out on such care.