Audit of NHS care for the dying published

“Thousands of patients are “dying badly” in NHS hospitals every year,” The Independent reports. An audit, carried out by the Royal College of Physicians, found some NHS trusts are failing to adhere to agreed guidelines on palliative care.

Other problems, identified by the audit, and picked up by the media include “Sick and elderly patients are not being told they are dying in more than half of cases,” as The Daily Telegraph reports, and how “Only a fifth of hospitals have specialist palliative care workers on duty on Saturdays and Sundays” the Daily Mail reports.

The audit, despite the tone of much of the reporting, did find that some NHS Trust and staff were performing well. For example, 97% of bereaved relatives or friends questioned during the audit reported that they had trust and confidence in some or all of the nurses treating their loved ones.

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