STEPHEN ADAMS writes in the UK’s TELEGRAPH:
Britain faces a growing crisis in its ability to care for people dying of cancer, dementia and other long-term diseases, doctors are warning.
More hospices, care homes and other end-of-life facilities are needed to help cope with increasing numbers dying ‘gradual’ deaths, say specialists worried that supply is not keeping pace with demand.
Better health care, and to some extent a fitter older population, means less are experiencing ‘sudden’ deaths, for example from heart attacks.
But while increased longevity is to be welcomed, doctors say not enough resources are being devoted to making the last days of the elderly as comfortable as possible.
Writing in the publication, British Medical Journal Supportive and Palliative Care, doctors warn that gradual deaths from cancer and other chronic disease are already “a considerable burden” for European countries, including Britain. READ MORE.