The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman’s report published today details some of the worst cases investigated by the watchdog in the past four years.
It has led to renewed calls for the Government to introduce free social care at home at the end of life – sparing dying people from ending their days in hospital, often without specialist palliative care support.
Families seeking free care for a dying relative currently face a complex process of means-testing. In a recent survey of attitudes to dying, two-thirds of those questioned said they would prefer to end their life at home, but the UK still has some of the highest rates of hospital death among older people in Europe.
It is widely accepted that hospital wards are rarely the best place for a patient, once it is clear that they are dying. However, more than half of deaths still occur in hospital.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/terminally-ill-patients-should-be-given-the-right-to-die-at-home-says-harrowing-report-10262040.html
