A 'good death' at home: community nurses helping to make it possible

The number of people dying at home rather than in a hospital is increasing, albeit slowly. This coincides with a growing emphasis across the UK to increase choice and enable individuals to both live and die well, and in the preferred setting of their choice. While most health professionals would support this approach, it is clear that providing end of life care in the community to all, irrespective of where they live, is complex. Communities face different challenges to hospital based care settings, one of these being geographical distances. This article discusses current end of life policies and how the community nurse is central to their implementation. It draws on some recent research which has identified the important steps that enable a community nurse to facilitate a good death and a particular research study which illustrated the unique role of the Community Nurse in providing end of life care in a rural setting, but also the challenges.