MPs believe that people should have the right to die in their place of choice

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03/12/10

MPs believe that people should have the right to die in their place of choice

Eighty-seven per cent of MPs believe that people should have the right to choose where they die according to research published today by end-of-life care charity Marie Curie Cancer Care. Almost the same proportion of MPs (86%) say this will only be possible with more community nursing care, particularly out-of-hours.

Other research has shown that around two thirds of people would choose to die at home if they had a terminal illness. However, more than half of deaths still happen in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be when they die.

With a rapidly aging population, demand for end-of-life care is likely to rise significantly in coming years. Ninety-seven per cent of the MPs surveyed said that the way a society looks after people at the end of their lives is a good measure of the standards of that society. Marie Curie Nurses provide free end-of-life care to people with terminal cancer and other illnesses in their own homes.

Steve Dewar, the charity’s Director of Research and Innovation, says: “End-of-life care can be anything from a nurse coming to ensure good pain control to relieving families of their immediate worries and preventing unnecessary admission to hospital. It can make all the difference between a good death and a bad death. Everyone should have the right to die in their place of choice, but we can't make this a reality unless 24-hour community nursing care is consistently available.”

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