Increasing number of deaths in North Somerset care homes

More people are dying in care homes instead of in hospital.

There has been a 30 per cent rise in people dying at a home over five years, with one in three deaths recorded at such places in 2016, figures show.

Then, 981 people passed away in hospital – the most common place for people to die unsurprisingly.

Kings College London’s new figures reveal 20 per cent of people died at home and six per cent at a hospice. They show an increasing trend of people preferring to spend their last days out of hospital.

Rick Wright, policy manager for England at the charity Marie Curie, said: “The number of care home beds available to people aged 75 or over has been steadily declining in recent years.

“This lack of capacity in care homes often leaves people stuck in hospital at the end of their lives.

“It’s plain to see the demand for community-based end of life care is increasing rapidly beyond the ability to deliver it.

“The country is woefully unprepared for the care needs of the future.”