UK tops world in ‘quality of death’

15 July 2010

The UK has been rated top in the world for 'quality of death' according to an index on end-of-life care devised by The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).

The index was commissioned by the Lien Foundation and ranks 40 countries according to their provision of end-of-life care. The UK tops the table which is based on indicators such as public awareness, training availability, access to pain killers and doctor-patient transparency.

The EIU praises the UK for leading the way “globally in terms of its hospice care network and statutory involvement in end-of-life care”. Following the UK in second and third place are Australia and New Zealand with US at ninth and France at twelfth.

A white paper produced by the EIU based on the research concludes:

• Combating perceptions of death and cultural taboos is crucial to improving palliative care.
• Public debates about euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide may raise awareness but relate to only a small minority of deaths.
• Drug availability is the most important practical issue.
• State funding of end-of-life care is limited and often prioritises conventional treatment.
• More palliative care may mean less health spending by increasing the proportion of community and homecare.

Link: The Quality of Death: Ranking end-of-life care across the world