In Hong Kong, it’s cheaper to die in a nursing home than a hospital, study finds
NGO studied costs incurred, and time spent in hospitals, by patients who opted to die at one of its homes, and those who died in hospital
End-of-life care for people spending their last days in a nursing home costs almost a fifth less than for those who die in hospital, a study has found.
The findings prompted the head of the Elderly Commission, whose NGO did the study, to suggest officials consider offering more support for end-of-life care in residential homes.
The study, by Haven of Hope Christian Service, which offers various health care services including end-of-life care for the elderly, looked at cost incurred and time spent in hospitals during the final year of 169 elderly people. Those studied had stayed in the organisation’s nursing home in Tseung Kwan O between 2010 and last year.
Among them, 58 joined a scheme offered by the home allowing them to die there. The other 111 did not join and died in hospital.
End-of-life care options have become increasingly relevant as the city’s population ages. The government projected people aged 65 or older would account for 29.9 per cent of the population by 2038, up from 17 per cent this year.
The study also found that the median total of end-of-life care costs for those who joined the scheme was 17 per cent, or HK$66,080, less than for those who did not join.