[Right_to_die] The dying not well treated - report

[World right-to-die news (nonprofit)]

BBC News in London reported 25 Nov 08:

  Care 'failing the terminally ill'

By Nick Triggle, Health reporter, BBC News

Terminally ill people and their families are being let down by failings 
in end of life care, a watchdog says.

The UK National Audit Office said while most people wanted to die at 
home, the majority ended their days in hospital.

The report said families, hospices and care homes in England needed more 
help to provide better end of life services.

And the watchdog cast doubt on the government's plans to improve care. 
Ministers insist that an improvement plan for care is "right on track".

About 500,000 people a year die in England, mostly following a period of 
chronic illness such as heart disease, cancer or dementia.

About a third happen at home or in a care home, while 58% die in hospital.

The report, compiled through surveys of patients, doctors, nurses and 
NHS trusts, said there was a lack of support to help keep people at home 
or in care homes leading to "unplanned and unwanted" admissions to 
hospital during the final days of life.

It pointed out front-line staff lacked basic training with only 29% of 
doctors and 18% of nurses receiving training in end of life care. 
Meanwhile, there is no formal training for care home staff.

The watchdog said hospices offered a valuable alternative to hospital, 
but struggled through lack of funding and support from the NHS and local 
authorities.

There were also wide variations in the spending on palliative care - 
specialist care to relieve suffering - with spending per trust ranging 
from £154 to over £1,600 on the average patient.

The report said there were no good reasons for such big differences.

Karen Taylor, head of health at the National Audit Office, said there 
were real problems with the system, but also added basic measures such 
as treating people with "dignity and respect" were missing.

"There are examples of good practice out there, but generally the system 
is not meeting the needs of people.

"The lack of training is undermining the confidence and expectation of 
involvement of many health professionals.

"It means families and care homes are left on their own to cope."