A report by the National End of Life Care Intelligence Network (NEoLCIN) showed 59% of people who died from dementia in the past decade died in a care home, compared with just 16% of the general population.
The prevalence of dementia is predicted to rise 72% by 2030, meaning more people will require end of life care.
This will pose unique challenges to commissioners and providers of health and social care, the report concluded.
Report author Dr Julia Verne, director of the South West Public Health Observatory, said: ‘This report is critical for providers and commissioners of end of life care, who need to look carefully at the differences in where people with these conditions die – in particular the high proportion of deaths in care homes.’
Dr Linda Charles-Ozuzu, national manager of the NEoLCIN, said the pace of increase in dementia varied across the country.
Commissioners and providers must look at these regional differences when planning the development of future services to meet the local growth in numbers, she said.
