A new Cochrane review led by King’s College London has found that providing home palliative care doubles the odds that someone with a terminal illness can die at home if they want to, and leads to better control of their symptoms.

Based on this evidence the researchers are calling for the development of specialist home palliative care services to be included in national healthcare strategies, to ensure people who wish to die at home receive the best possible care. Researchers also say that providing palliative care at home could reduce avoidable and often expensive hospital admissions.

Previous studies show that most people with a terminal illness would prefer to die at home if possible. However, often multiple severe symptoms such as pain, breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, or a lack of home support means that they are admitted to hospital as their disease progresses. Earlier research from the Cicely Saunders Institute at King’s found that people with diseases such as advanced cancer, respiratory failure and late stage neurological diseases, can suffer as many as 12-14 different symptoms that need treatment and care.

If your loved one is considering palliative care at home, contact Guardian Network today to discuss a tailored in home palliative care plan.

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