dying at home

This article reminded me of some work I have been doing to look at rural health inequalities. I am in a dialogue with Public Health England about whether we have data to compare the number of people dying in hospitals to those dying at home in rural vs urban settings. This article in addition to making me reflect on the problems facing rural dwellers who want to die at home, reminds us of the challenges the grieving relatives of the recently deceased face. It tells us:

Bereaved families in England and Wales are struggling to register relatives’ deaths within official time limits, figures reveal.

In 2015/16, 187,605 deaths were registered after the five-day legal limit, a 70% rise on 2011/12, General Register Office (GRO) figures show.

Cuts to council budgets are among the reasons, the National Association of Funeral Directors (NAFD) said.

The Local Government Association (LGA) said councils were tackling the delays.

An individual who intentionally fails to inform, or refuses to provide information to a registrar about a death can be fined £200.

But under the law, this would be avoided if delays in registering the death were caused by a council or because the medical certificate was issued late by a doctor or coroner.