Nearly 8 out of 10 in Singapore wish to die at home: survey

According to a recent “Death Attitudes Survey” commissioned by Lien Foundation, 77 per cent of people in Singapore wish to die at home.

However, according to government statistics, only 27 per cent of deaths in the city-state last January to December took place at home.

The findings of the survey, which was conducted by Blackbox Research in the last two months of last year, were released on Tuesday.

A total of 1,000 people 18 years old and above responded to the survey, which was commissioned to gain insights into hospice palliative care.

Hospice palliative care, which focuses on pain and symptom control at patients’ own homes, usually involves patients who no longer benefit from curative treatment and have a life expectancy of less than 12 months, according to local charity HCA Hospice Care.

The survey shows that medical cost has been a barrier to patients when deciding on hospice palliative care.

Almost half of the respondents who would not consider the healthcare service cited high costs as the main reason.

Furthermore, 87 per cent of total respondents feared that they would burden their families and friends with medical costs. 

Four in five of respondents believe that medical insurance should cover hospice palliative care too.

Dr Jeremy Lim, Partner and Head of Asia Pacific Life Sciences from Oliver Wyman, hopes that the government would provide free community hospice palliative care in Singapore, especially for the pioneer generation.

He said, “There is a strong case to provide free hospice palliative care in the community…On the issue of healthcare costs, I believe there would be net savings. Enabling patients to be cared for at home and in the community – which is what they want – is less costly than hospitalization. Hospital beds not filled with palliative care patients can be used for other patients. Everyone can benefit from having community palliative care free.”