End of Life and Dying
An international study found that relief from pain and physical symptoms were the factors that people considered most important for “a good death”. 12 People at end of life wanted honest communication, being heard, having their wishes respected and feeling connected to loved ones. While a person’s preferred place of death is not as high on the list of personal priorities, we do know that if the important factors outlined above are in place, people would prefer to die at home. Regardless of a person’s care setting, diagnosis or age they need access to supports and to be assured that this care is delivered by a reliable, trained and supportive healthcare team working in close cooperation with each other.
How is end-of-life care delivered?
As previously mentioned, people die in a variety of settings (the majority, 45% die in hospital), and a key area of focus for end-of-life care is that a person is supported to die where they wish to be cared for. Continuity and Coordination of Care People move between different settings in their final months of life. In the National End of Life Survey, 43% of people who were cared for at home in their last three months of life later died in hospital 11 .
43% of those who were cared for at home during the last three months of their life, then died in a hospital
Another study estimated that, on any given day, one in five adults admitted to hospital will be in their last year of life 13 .
14
Irish Hospice Foundation
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