Jackie Baillie MSP is supporting a call to help improve the lives of people living with terminal illness as Marie Curie’s annual Great Daffodil Appeal gets underway.

The Great Daffodil Appeal is Marie Curie’s biggest annual fundraising campaign which sees Marie Curie volunteers giving out daffodil pins in return for donations across Scotland in March. For this year’s appeal Marie Curie is asking people in Scotland to raise half a million pounds.

Marie Curie is encouraging people to think about the care they would want at the end of their life. To support people to get realistic, person-centred care when they need it, Marie Curie has launched a free information resource ‘You Matter’. Download the resource at mariecurie.org.uk/youmatter

Jackie Baillie MSP said:

“I am proud to pledge my support for Marie Curie and encourage everyone in Dumbarton, Vale of Leven, Helensburgh and Lomond to get behind the Great Daffodil Appeal this year.

“Every penny raised and every daffodil worn helps fund crucial hours of care for people living with a terminal illness in their own homes and in Marie Curie’s hospices in Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“Improving the quality of palliative care and ensuring that everyone in Scotland has access to services like Marie Curie a vital part of providing dignity at the end of life.”

Susan Lowes, Marie Curie Policy & Public Affairs Manager Scotland said:

“It is so important that everyone gets the care they need but sadly one in four people in Scotland aren’t getting that care. Marie Curie urgently needs your support so we can reach more people when they need us most.

“We launched You Matter to empower people to play their part in improving end of life care. By involving people in the decisions that affect them we can improve their experience. That means helping avoid unnecessary treatment and reducing the need for them to be admitted to hospital where they often don’t want to be. There’s only one chance to get this right at the end of someone’s life, and everyone matters.