title: Identifying, documenting, and reviewing preferred place of death: an audit of one UK hospice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Current UK health-care policy suggests that good end-of-life care includes choosing a place for death. This paper examines the extent to which patients' preferred place of death (PPD) is identified, documented, and reviewed in one UK hospice.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 150 case notes were audited using a data capture form. Case notes of patients who died in January 2008 (n=50), January 2009 (n=50), and January 2010 (n=50) were accessed during September-November 2010. The data are presented using descriptive statistics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  PPD was documented in 28 cases (18.6%), conversations about end-of-life preferences were documented in 16 cases (10.6%), and preferences were reviewed in 6 cases (4%). Of the 28 patients whose preferences were documented, 25 (89.2%) died in their stated place of choice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Rates of PPD identification, documentation, and review were low at this hospice. This raises further research questions about how and why end-of-life choices are being made.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Sciences, Keele Universtiy, Staffordshire, ST6 4BG, UK. s.walker@ilcs.keele.ac.uk
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.forename: Sue
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Helena
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Priest
mesh_terms: D003643:Death; D006738:Hospices / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D057240:Patient Preference; D006113:United Kingdom