The specific care needs of elderly patients dying in Swiss hospitals and nursing homes are not adequately met, a Swiss Science Foundation study has found. Most people in Switzerland die in a hospital or nursing home. But at the end of their lives their basic needs are not given sufficient consideration and there is a lack of coordination among health professionals, resulting in fragmented care. These are the main findings of the five-year “End of Life” national research programme, presented on Tuesday, which comprises 33 projects looking at dying in Switzerland. Palliative care – which takes a holistic approach focusing on pain relief, maintaining quality of life and self-determination – could help improve the current situation, the study’s authors concluded. “Palliative care ought to be more widely available in Switzerland,” said Markus Zimmermann from the University of Fribourg. “It is therefore important to raise public awareness and ensure that caregivers and doctors ...
