This episode explores the crucial gap in mental health support for individuals with terminal illnesses, drawing from a parliamentary debate sparked by the experience of Mike and his late wife, Sarah. Sarah suffered deep depression and anxiety but received inadequate care, facing long waiting lists and inappropriate therapies. The discussion emphasizes that mental suffering is as crushing as physical symptoms, yet the current system is a "postcode lottery" where access to specialist psychological support, like that provided by psycho-oncologists, depends on geography and hospice funding. Members of Parliament urged for immediate baseline mental health assessments upon diagnosis and sustainable funding for specialized palliative care.

Key Takeaways

• Mental health struggles, including severe depression and anxiety, are common consequences of terminal illnesses but are often overlooked in a health culture that prioritizes physical symptoms.
• Existing mental health services offered to the terminally ill, such as counselling or cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), often fail due to lengthy waiting lists or because the therapy is not specialized or appropriate for their needs.
• Specialist psychological care is required for cancer patients, but psycho-oncologists are often badly overstretched.
• Access to quality emotional and mental support at the end of life is inconsistent and depends on the resources and fundraising success of local hospices, creating significant inequality.
• Mental health support must adopt a whole-person approach, ensuring that the patient's family and unpaid carers also receive necessary support and bereavement services.
• Policy recommendations include conducting immediate baseline mental health assessments upon terminal diagnosis and creating a clear referral pathway to experienced psycho-oncologists.

Source: Terminal Illness: Mental Health Support
Volume 776: debated on Wednesday 3 December 2025

Support the show

Follow and subscribe to 'The Bench Report' on Apple, Spotify, and YouTube for new episodes daily: thebenchreport.co.uk

Subscribe to our Substack

Shape our next episode! Get in touch with an issue important to you - Producer Tom will grab another coffee and start the research!

Email us: [email protected]

Follow us on YouTube, X, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok! @benchreportUK

Support us for bonus and extended episodes + more.

No outside chatter: source material only taken from Hansard and the Parliament UK website.

Contains Parliamentary information repurposed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0...