When Marlene Viggers was informed that her newly diagnosed cancer was untreatable, she expressed a desire to die at home surrounded by her loved ones. Neil Andrews, her son-in-law, explained that as the matriarch of the family, Marlene wanted to have her family by her side during her final moments. Over the next few weeks until Marlene’s death in January 2022 at the age of 73, she received 24/7 care from her closest relatives, with support from Marie Curie, an end-of-life charity.

Having her family there, holding her hand, and being in her own home surrounded by loved ones brought her comfort despite the pain she was in. The proportion of people dying at home rather than in hospitals has been increasing, with a 5.3% rise between 2015 and 2024. This upward trend saw a significant spike during the Covid-19 pandemic, when many people faced challenges in visitor restrictions and the need for social distancing. Covid-19 caused nearly 227,000 deaths in the UK, and the pandemic forced individuals to confront death in ways they hadn’t previously experienced.

The pandemic also accelerated the growing interest in non-traditional funeral ceremonies and alternative end-of-life care options. However, despite the increase in people wanting to die at home, many still lack the confidence to discuss their end-of-life wishes with their families and understand their options. Research and surveys show that although many people prefer to die at home, the reality is that a large number of deaths still occur in hospitals.

Hospitals are often seen as overcrowded, busy, and impersonal environments, which may contribute to the trend of people preferring to pass away in their own homes. Furthermore, the challenges of providing adequate community care and out-of-hours support mean that many individuals end up in hospitals unnecessarily. The pandemic also revealed issues with NHS confidence, with some individuals expressing a preference for dying at home due to images of people waiting in hospital corridors.

The outlook is likely to become even more challenging, with a projected 25% increase in the need for palliative care by 2048. Most home-based care for terminally ill individuals is provided by unpaid family members, emphasizing the importance of discussing end-of-life wishes and plans. There are efforts to address the issues with end-of-life care, but clearly more work needs to be done in terms of support for individuals and their families during their final days.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2025/mar/16/how-covid-19-changed-way-we-die-england-wales