People 'denied' die at home wish
Two in five people who die in hospital are terminally ill and could be cared for elsewhere Too many people are dying in hospitals and care homes, and not at home the way they want to, says a report from Demos.
Of the 500,000 people who die each year in the UK, the think tank found only 18% die at home, yet 60% of people surveyed would like to.Investing in community-based end of life care would also save the NHS money in the long term, the report says.
The Department of Health is currently reviewing funding for England.
Sevices in the rest of the UK are funded separately by the devolved nations.
The report, entitled Dying for Change predicts that by 2030 more people will die in hospital (65%) and fewer people will die at home (just one in 10 people).
In 10 years, Demos predicts that 20% of people will die in care homes, a figure currently at 17%.
Yet a poll of 2,127 people carried out as part of the report shows that two in three people would prefer to die at home, surrounded by family and friends.
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End Quote Charles Leadbetter DemosPeople are dying over a longer period, losing first their memory and then their physical capacities...”
This equates to more than 190,000 people dying in hospital each year when they would rather be at home.
Not everyone who dies in hospital knows they are going to, but many do.Two in five people who die in hospital do not have curable conditions and most people will be ill for six years before they die.
It is estimated that 20% of hospital beds are currently taken up with caring for people who are dying.
Funding injection The report says that investing £500m more a year would allow more of these people to die at home or with support in the community.
Setting up new places for people to die close to home, training volunteers to support the terminally ill, a 24-hour nursing support service and an "end of life telephone help line" are all suggestions the report makes on how this money could be spent.
It also proposes setting up a national "hospice at home" service to help support people dying at home.
More provision should be made for people to die in hospices and at home, the report says At present, around £20bn of NHS services is spent on end-of-life care.
This is forecast to rise to £25bn in 2030.
Charles Leadbeater, co-author of the Dying for Change report said: "It's not just that we're living longer; part of this means that people are dying over a longer period, losing first their memory and then their physical capacities in stages.
"If we put in the right kind of supports for people to cope at home, many tens of thousands of people could have a chance of achieving what they want at the end of life; to be close to their family and friends, to find a sense of meaning in death."
Care services minister Paul Burstow said the government wanted to ensure that the care people receive at the end of life is "compassionate, appropriate and gives people choices in where they die and how they are cared for".
"Identifying people approaching the end of life and advance care planning is an essential part of this," he said.
"We are consulting on extending patient choice and want to move towards a national choice offer that supports those who wish to die at home."
David Prailll, chief executive of the charity Help the Hospices, said the report would help to stimulate public debate.
"It also makes some very interesting suggestions about specific practical steps that could be taken at a national level and these merit deeper investigation."
"Seventy per cent of hospice care takes place in people's homes and a growing number of hospices - already over two-thirds - provide support to care homes to make sure residents get the palliative care they need," he said.
