Care homes are becoming more common place for people in Rugby to die

Care homes are becoming a more common place to die for people in Rugby.

The latest data from Public Health England reveals that about 25 per cent of the death registered in 2016 occurred in care homes, up from only 20 per cent five years earlier.

Experts in ageing have urged the Government toput more funding into community care to increase the number of nursing home beds available to meet the future demand.

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A study published by King’s College London last year pointed out that care homes will be the most common place where people die by 2040, overtaking hospitals.

The PHE data identifies the four most common places of death as hospitals, care homes, hospices and homes.

Although most deaths in Rugby still occurs in hospitals, the number has fallen in five years - from 424 in 2011 to 437 in 2016.

Only 22 per cent of the deaths occured at home and 5 per cent in hospices.

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The King’s research says most people prefer to die in the place they are usually cared for, including home, rather than in a hospital.

Anna Bone, lead author of the study, warned that hospital deaths could rise further unless capacity continues to increase in care homes.

She said: “The projected rise of deaths in care homes is striking and warns of the urgent need to ensure adequate bed capacity, resources and training of staff in palliative care in all care homes in the country.

“If we are to continue enabling people to die in their preferred place, it is essential to invest more in care homes and community health services.

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“Without this investment, people are likely to seek help from hospitals, which puts pressure on an already strained system and is not where people would rather be at the end of their lives.”

Rick Wright, policy manager for England at the charity Marie Curie, said: “The country is woefully unprepared for the care needs of the future.”