MPs believe people should have the right to die in their place of choice
Press release published
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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. If we as a community are really committed to caring for the dying, the need for good nursing care around the clock needs to be acknowledged and addressed as a matter of urgency. We’re very encouraged to see such overwhelming support from MPs on this vital issue.” Marie Curie Cancer Care campaigns for everyone to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die in their place of choice. The charity employs more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other health care professionals to provide expert care and support to around 32,000 terminally ill people in the community every year. -ENDS- |
Contact information
Marie Curie press office
- 0844 893 2101
- media@mariecurie.org.uk
Updated
Notes to editor
Marie Curie commissioned ComRes to conduct this research. ComRes surveyed 151 MPs on the ComRes parliamentary panel between 15th October and 12th November 2010 by self-completion postal questionnaire and online. Data were weighted to reflect the exact composition of the House of Commons in terms of party representation and regional constituency distribution. Full tables available at www.comres.co.uk
On average, over 570,000 people die each year. By 2031 it is projected that approximately 700,000 people will die each year (Gomes B, Higginson IJ. Where people die (1974-2030): past trends, future projects and implications for care. Palliative Medicine 2008.)
Marie Curie is one of the UK’s largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, it expects to provide care to around 29,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its hospices this year and is the largest provider of hospice beds outside the NHS.
Funding
Around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and businesses, with the balance of our funds coming from the NHS.
Marie Curie Nurses
The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end-of-life care, totally free for patients in their own homes.
Research
The charity has two centres for palliative care research, The Marie Curie Palliative Care Research Unit at University College London and The Marie Curie Palliative Care Institute in Liverpool.
It also funds seven fundamental scientific research groups which investigate the causes and treatments of cancer. This research was previously carried out at the Marie Curie Research Institute in Oxted, Surrey. The programmes are now located in universities around the country, and will receive funding from the charity until 2012.
Supporting the choice to die at home
Research (Views about dying at home, 2008, survey commissioned by Marie Curie, carried out by YouGov) shows around 65 per cent of people would like to die at home if they had a terminal illness, with a sizeable minority opting for hospice care. However, more than 50 per cent of cancer deaths still occur in hospital, the place people say they would least like to be. Since 2004 Marie Curie has been campaigning for more patients to be able to make the choice to be cared for and die at home.
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