A VITAL helpline dedicated to dying people has been closed down just seven months after launching due to a nursing shortage.

Pall Call, previously run by Sue Ryder, has been stopped by NHS funders, according to a report from Healthwatch Reading.

The service was ended on Friday, May 5, days before the launch of Dying Matters Week (May 8-14).

Rebecca Norris, Healthwatch Reading team manager, said: “We had been involved in the steering group overseeing Pall Call’s launch, including helping to develop a patient survey to evaluate how useful people and relatives found it.

“It is a shame this valuable addition to existing palliative care services has been stopped at this time and we hope the learning from this project can be carried into plans for the new 111 service.”

The Berkshire West federation of NHS Clinical Commissioning Groups decided to pull the service due to ongoing battle to recruit enough nurses.

However, a revamped 111 telephone service is due be launched in October, which could offer 24/7 access to similar expert end-of-life advice.

Pall Call was launched in Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire to offer a single point of contact for patients and adult social care professionals from 15 different groups.

Nurses would intervene to try to prevent unnecessary hospital admission by giving carers confidence on how to manage care needs.

Pall Call received 564 calls and had prevented 42 hospital admissions, with three times as many calls to the service in February compared to November 2016.

Sue Ryder made the announcement last Thursday (May 4) explaining how the service was being forced to end due to recruitment challenges.

The statement on the Sue Ryder website reads: "We will continue to work with local commissioners and supporters to best meet the palliative care needs of people who use our services."