News / Society

One in eight patients dies hungry, thirsty in UK hospitals: Study

Monday, 25 April 2016 7:08 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 25 April 2016 7:08 AM ]

A study by the Office for National Statistics shows thousands of people are dying hungry, thirsty and in pain in UK hospitals. (file photo)

One in eight dying patients spends the final days of life thirsty, hungry or in pain in UK hospitals and care homes, new research reveals.

Researchers surveyed more than 20,000 grieving families and found that one in eight patients dies hungry, thirsty or in pain, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The findings revealed widespread dissatisfaction among families. Fifth of them expressed dissatisfaction with hospital nurses, saying they were not treating the dying individuals with dignity and respect.

Thirteen percent of the grieving families said their dying relative’s need for food was not met during the last two days of their life. Ten percent said their loved ones failed to receive enough pain killers, even though in some cases they had cancer.

The grim figures showed that nearly one in eight dying patients also had insufficient help with personal needs.

“It is disgraceful that almost one in four carers felt that someone dying of cancer did not get good care overall in their last three months of life,” said Fran Woodard, of Macmillan Cancer Support.

She denounced the poor treatment provided to dying patients, saying, “Dying people and their families should never be left in such terrible distress in this day and age.”

Another study in Japan, released last month, showed that dying cancer patients would live a few extra days at home rather than in hospital.

The study, published online by the journal Cancer surveyed more than 2,000 patients. It said the survival of patients who died at home was “significantly longer” than that of patients who died in hospitals.

Doctor Jun Hamano of the University of Tsukuba reassured that “good home hospice care does not shorten patient life, and even may achieve longer survival.”

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