hospice – Hinterland https://hinterland.org.uk Rural News Fri, 15 Nov 2019 06:08:29 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5 Call for NHS to do more to help terminally ill people die at home https://hinterland.org.uk/call-for-nhs-to-do-more-to-help-terminally-ill-people-die-at-home/ Wed, 07 Feb 2018 22:45:50 +0000 http://www.hinterland.org.uk/?p=4983 This very interesting article flags up a real issue for those seeking to die at home in rural settings where the challenges of supporting people in this decision are more acute. It tells us:

The government’s health advisers are urging the NHS to do more to help terminally ill patients achieve their wish of dying at home.

The call by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) comes after figures showed that fewer patients were dying in hospital and more were passing away at home or in a care home or hospice.

Almost one in four of the 500,000 people a year who die in England do so at home. According to new data published by Public Health England (PHE) that is the highest figure for 12 years.

In 2016, accounting for all the deaths, 23.5% occurred in the person’s home, 5% more than did so in 2004, PHE said.

The percentage of people dying in hospital fell by 11% over the same period, from 57.9% in 2004 to 46.9% in 2016, according to PHE’s latest end-of-life care profiles.

PHE said the trend showed that more people were choosing to die at home, in the company of relatives and friends.

Research showed that four in five people approaching death wanted to end their days in familiar surroundings, at home, yet many were denied the chance.

“Patients should have the opportunity, wherever possible, to die in the place of their choosing, with their symptoms effectively managed,” said Gillian Leng, NICE’s deputy chief executive, responding to the shift away from deaths in hospital.

The number of people dying in a residential or nursing home also rose by 5%, from 16.8% in 2004 to 21.8% in 2012. The other 5.7% of deaths in 2016 happened at a hospice.

]]> Death-registering delays ‘rise by 70%’ https://hinterland.org.uk/death-registering-delays-rise-by-70/ Wed, 30 Aug 2017 20:20:53 +0000 http://www.hinterland.org.uk/?p=4691 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.

]]>