Hospice shortages leave patients unable to die at home

Choi, 59, had battled blood cancer for three years before deciding in early April to stop life-sustaining treatment. Her family hoped to arrange home hospice care so she could spend her final days at home. But in Eumseong County, North Chungcheong Province, no such service was available. Chungbuk National University Hospital, the province’s only provider of home hospice care, was already full and unable to accept additional patients.

She was admitted to Chungju Medical Center in mid-April and died nine days later. Her daughter, Kim Jeong-a, 29, said the family could not fulfill her mother’s final wish. “She wanted to be with family at home in her last moments, and we couldn’t make that happen,” she said.

Patients in regional areas often have little choice but to travel to major cities or the Seoul metropolitan area to receive hospice care, reflecting gaps in local infrastructure. Data submitted by Rep. Han Ji-a of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly’s Health and Welfare Committee, showed that 55.7% of the 2,462 patients who used home hospice services last year received care in the capital region.

The figure stands in contrast to where deaths occur. Among those aged 65 and older who died last year, 58.8% were in non-metropolitan areas. The disparity underscores the difficulty patients outside the capital region face in securing the option of a dignified death at home.

Shim Jae-yong, head of the palliative care center at Gangnam Severance Hospital, said access remains limited in provincial areas despite aging populations. “In many regions, seniors account for more than 40% of residents, yet hospice access is even more constrained,” he said. “End-of-life care should be available to everyone, no matter where they live.”


방성은기자 bbang@donga.com