Medical staff are to get extra training in how to break bad news to terminally-ill patients and their families.

A £2.5 million grant awarded to Brighton and Sussex Medical School will also pay for patients with brain tumours to try experimental acupuncture which could cure side-effects of radiotherapy.

The studies could provide a definitive answer to whether the treatment works and pave the way for future research into complementary therapies.

Doctors will be filmed talking to patients, interviewed about the experience and trained in communication skills.

Dr Lesley Fallowfield, of the University of Sussex-based psychosocial oncology group, has 20 years' experience of talking to patients. She asks them how doctors can talk to patients sensitively, which jargon is the most confusing and how they feel about new cancer treatments.

She said: "Doctors talk to patients and their families between 150,000 and 200,000 times over 40 years. They do that more times than anything else, even brushing their teeth, and we really still don't give them enough training in how to do some of these difficult things."

She blamed stress and burn-out for what could sometimes be seen as an uncaring attitude.

She said: "In some ways things have improved over the last few years but sadly they have also deteriorated as well because of other pressures which are put on doctors like achieving targets. Doctors are aware of their patients' needs but pressures put on them maybe mean they are not able to exhibit those skills as much as they would like."

The centre has already devised training which is now used throughout the UK to help doctors and nurses improve their bedside manner.

It was among the top five per cent of centres funded by Cancer Research UK graded "outstanding" in a recent inspection.

This helped it secure the funding. Dr Fallowfield said: "When you get money for cancer research people always think about trying to find a cure but there are lots of people for whom this isn't going to be a possibility. We give them information they can understand and feel they are being supported."

Patients with brain tumours being treated at the Royal Sussex County Hospital in Brighton will start having acupuncture in the coming months.

The treatment could cure xerostomia, a condition where radiotherapy has destroyed most of their saliva glands, making their mouth constantly dry and causing speech, eating and sleep problems.

Dr Fallowfield said: "Lots of people raise money to fund research into breast cancer but this group of people doesn't have anyone wearing pink ribbons for them or running races for them.

"They feel very pleased that someone is looking at their problems very seriously."