Frankfurt/Main (dpa/lhe) - First aid in an emergency is well known - but there is also help at the end of life. In Hesse, among other things, hospice associations offer so-called last-aid courses for laypeople to impart knowledge on the topics of death and dying. They also give advice on how to accompany the dying. For example, people who need to look after their frail parents or a seriously ill family member should be addressed, as explained by Elke Görnt-Au, coordinator at the Wetterau hospice service, which regularly offers last-aid courses. These should "provide security - analogous to a first aid course".
According to the German Hospice and Palliative Care Association, seriously ill and dying people should not have to do without "the security and warmth of trusting companionship" during the last phase of their lives. If they wish, they should be looked after and cared for "as far as possible" in their usual home environment.
However, a large proportion of people do not die within their own four walls. An evaluation by the Hessian State Statistical Office on behalf of the Ministry of Social Affairs in Wiesbaden on the deaths in 2020 showed that only about 15 percent of those who died were at home. Most people (almost 30 percent) died in the hospital, almost 13 percent in an inpatient care facility, 2.3 percent in a hospice.
However, the meaningfulness of the numbers is limited because complete data is not yet available: In 2019, new death certificates were introduced, which, unlike before, also recorded the places of death, explained a spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs. These new forms are gradually being used in practice. "Initially, old stocks of forms from general practitioners were still used up. The collection rate will therefore increase continuously in the coming years," it said.
