England's National Health Service Announces New End of Life Care Strategy

The National Health Service (NHS) in England announced a 300 million pound investment in end-of-life care on Wednesday, aimed at allowing more people to choose to die at home.

Currently, most of the 500,000 people who die each year in England do so in a hospital, despite surveys that show two-thirds would prefer to die at home with their families. There was extensive coverage of the new program in the British media, a sampling:

• Here are brief reports of the announcement from Reuters UK and OnMedica.


• The TimesOnline featured several articles and commentary. This article lists the key facts of the initiative. Here is a commentary that questions the desirability of dying at home. This commentary praises hospice, but worries whether the NHS can live up to the promises of the program. This writer suggest that the English discuss death more openly, in order to celebrate life.


• The BBC reported that Health Secretary Alan Johnson wants to start a national debate to get people talking about death.
  

  The strategy suggested a number of ways to encourage that, including getting funeral directors to hold open days and schools to start discussing it with pupils.
  
  Paul Cann, from Help the Aged, said: "For far too long, there has been a presumption that death should be at the convenience of the system, as opposed to respecting the individual wishes of those who are approaching their final days."
  
  But he added the challenge now was to turn "fine words into action".
  
  And shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien said the government had ignored the "wonderful contribution" made by hospices.