The Irish Hospice Foundation has published a report “Dying, Death and Bereavement in Ireland”. The report highlights emerging trends in key areas relating to the experience of dying, death and bereavement in Ireland and shows that “without targeted investment and planning, Ireland is facing a potential future crisis in end-of-life care and support for people who are bereaved”.
Key findings include:
- “Irelands older population is growing rapidly and the number of people aged over 65 is projected to double in the next 20 years, surpassing 1.5 million by the year 2046. While currently around 35,000 people die in Ireland each year, this is expected to grow to 49,000 by 2046
- Two thirds of people who lost a loved-one, indicated that the person had not been told by a medical professional that they were likely to die. This lack of communication meant that the person dying missed opportunities to make appropriate arrangements and family members were not fully aware that their loved ones’ death was imminent
- The number of people dying in Ireland from a condition that will require general and specialist palliative care is set to increase by 57% in the next 20 years from 25,669 to 40,355
- A lack of out-of-hours support for people receiving end-of-life care may be leading to an increase in people attending an emergency department when medical intervention is required. Over a five-year period (2019-2023), almost 5,500 people died in or on the way to emergency departments
- There is currently no statutory right to bereavement leave in Ireland, which means that employers have no legal obligation to offer time off to employees who have lost a loved one. IHF research indicated that two out of three people who were recently bereaved were in employment and more than half of people surveyed changed their working arrangement following a loss.”
You can read the full report here