National bereavement survey (VOICES) 2011: England

The National Bereavement Survey (VOICES) was commissioned by the Department of Health to follow up on a commitment made in the End of Life Care Strategy. This Statistical Bulletin describes the methods and summarises the key results of the first VOICES survey. The survey participants were 22,292 bereaved relatives of individuals whose death was registered from November 2010 to June 2011. Key findings are presented on the following themes: quality of care; dignity and respect; coordination of care; relief of pain and suffering; care and support for the patient; decision making; preferences and choice; support for relatives, friends and carers; and quality of care for people with dementia. The overall quality of care across all services in the last 3 months of life was rated by 12% of respondents as outstanding, 30% as excellent, 33% as good, 14% as fair, and 10% as poor.Being shown dignity and respect by staff was highest in hospices (87 per cent ‘all the time’ for hospice doctors and 80 per cent for hospice nurses) and lowest in hospitals (57 per cent ‘all the time’ for hospital doctors and 48 per cent for hospital nurses). For those who expressed a preference, the majority preferred to die at home (71 per cent), although the most commonly recorded place of death was a hospital (53 per cent).