Survey into care of dying patients

THE standard of care provided to dying and terminally ill patients is to be the subject of a nationwide survey.

The Irish Hospice Foundation will today begin an ambitious audit of end-of-life healthcare — believed to be the first of its kind within the EU — to assist hospitals improve services for dying patients and their families.

It is estimated that more than 18,000 of the 30,000 people who die in the Republic each year end their lives in hospital.