Table 2.

Summary of key points

Country	Year	Authors	Summary of key points relating to hospital palliative care
Australia	2010	Policy makers	• People prefer to be cared for and die at home yet most die in hospital • Potential for cost savings by avoiding inappropriate hospital admissions • Burden of hospitalisation on the health care system and poor quality of death in hospital
England	2008	Advisory board supported by 6 key work groups	• People prefer to be cared for and die at home yet most die in hospital • Key strategy aim to reduce number of hospital deaths • Lack of community responsiveness results in admissions and prolonged hospital stay • Improved community provision reduces admissions enabling people to die in place of choice • Poor quality of care in hospitals • Care for dying people is a core role of the hospital in the ‘foreseeable future’
Ireland	2001	National advisory committee of clinicians, leaders and policy makers	• People prefer to be cared for and die at home yet most die in hospital • Unresponsive community services result in emergency hospital admissions • More investment in community services would reduce unnecessary hospital admissions • Poor quality of care in hospitals
Singapore	2011	Workgroup comprising of health professionals	• More understanding needed regarding people’s preferences at the end of life including preferences for place of care in Singapore • Majority of patients are admitted to hospital for symptom control and more patients are cared for in hospital than necessary • Home care teams need to be able to provide treatment at home to reduce the need for hospital admissions • Patients identified late have poorer outcomes of care and unnecessary hospital admissions
Switzerland	2009	Government based steering committee and expert working groups comprising of experts in palliative care	• Most people die in nursing homes yet the majority prefer to die at home • Adequate community based services enable people to stay at place of choice and avoid unnecessary hospital admissions • The patient should be supported to choose where they would like to spend their last phase of life