Survey of dying patients proves value of palliative care specialists.

A study that shows care by Marie Curie staff doubles the chance of terminally ill people being able to die at home will be used to lobby the government for investment in specialist end of life care. The study of 60,000 patients found that more than three quarters of those cared for by the Marie Curie nursing service died at home and only 7.7 per cent died in hospital. In contrast, 34.9 per cent of those cared for by community nurses died at home and 41.6 per cent died in hospital. The research, commissioned by the charity, also found that those cared for by its 2,000 nursing staff were less likely to use hospital care. Hospital costs for people cared for by Marie Curie nurses were £1,140 per person, less than for the comparator group of 29,538 people cared for by community nurses.