Only a few Germans want to die in the hospital

Four percent want to die in hospital - in fact, there are 70 percent

08/17/2014

Desire and reality often diverge very far apart. This is particularly sad when it comes to an unfulfilled desire at the end of life. According to a poll, only four percent want to die in hospital, but over seventy percent of Germans actually die in a clinic.

Every second person wants to die at home
According to a survey, only four percent of Germans want to die in a hospital or nursing home. This is the result of a representative Forsa survey by the Center for Quality in Care (ZQP), on which the pharmacy magazine „Senior counselors“ (8/2014). Every second wish to say goodbye at home and every third would like to be at the end of life in the hospice. However, in reality, more than 70 percent of Germans would die in hospital, as the magazine continues to write.

Inadequate information about palliative care
When dread, shortness of breath and pain increase, many sufferers seem to be the best haven for the clinic. However, this is partly due to inadequate information about palliative medicine, which enables dying in dignity and without much pain at home. „Many do not know that we care for seriously ill people at home until their deaths. All patients have a legal claim to this“, said the palliative physician Dr. med. Birgitta Behringer from Bochum.

Not alone in the last hours of life
A ZQP survey at the beginning of the year also revealed that 61 percent do not want to be alone in their final hours. According to the survey, 82 percent of respondents want their partner at the last minute of their life, and 70 percent of respondents said they wanted their family around them. One in five was in favor of being alone at the moment of death. For the majority of respondents (86 percent), the most important factor in end-of-life care is the maximum possible relief of distressing symptoms such as pain, shortness of breath or nausea. In addition, two-thirds consider escorting anxiety and grief to be particularly relevant. (Ad)