One in four terminally ill people are not getting the care they need, according to a leading cancer care charity.

Marie Curie, which runs a hospice in Glasgow and one in Edinburgh, as well as providing care and support services across Scotland, said a lack of specific funding for end of life care has caused a gap in services.

The organisation, which depends on charitable donations and fundraising, said thousands of people are unable to get care they need at the end of their life.

In a response to the Scottish Parliament Health and Sport Committee it said there are 56,000 people who die every year in Scotland and it is estimated that 46,000 of those will need some sort of palliative care.

The charity said however, there is evidence that 11,000 people do not get the care they require when they are at the end of their life.

Marie Cure said: “This is a substantial gap, which must be bridged if the Scottish Government is to deliver on its vision of care for all.”

It added: “However, no additional or specific financial resource has been committed to palliative care services locally to support the delivery of these various commitments and priorities relating to palliative care.”

Marie Curie said that Integration Joint Boards delivering health and social care have been asked to find the resources from existing budgets and said it would like reassurance that IJBs are recognising these commitments.

Richard Meade, Head of Policy and Public Affairs, Marie Curie, told the committee: “It is not clear to us where palliative care sits in IJB priorities. Many don’t even mention palliative care.”

The Scottish Government is committed to doubling palliative and end of life provision in the community resulting in fewer people dying in hospital.

Mr Meade said the government has a commitment that everyone who needs it will receive palliative care by 2021.

The charity said social care is integral to palliative care, stating that it can be the difference between being able to stay at home or get out of hospital allowing people to remain connected to their families and community, living with a degree of independence and control.

It called for further investment in social care services to allow this to happen.

In a written submission to the Health and Sport Committee it said: “Only with genuine investment and additional resource will Scotland be able to ensure that people get the care they need at home in a way that meets their needs.”

It added: “Investing in palliative care, and those services that ensure palliative care can be delivered to support the government achieve its priorities.”

It called for more research into the financial benefits of investing in palliative care in Scotland.

Using calculations form England to suggest extending funding by £16.8m could result in savings of £21m and nearly 7000 fewer hospital deaths.