Terminal care: evaluation of an advisory domiciliary service at St Christopher's Hospice.

In a matched, comparative study the provision of an advisory service to families who were nursing a patient with incurable cancer at home enabled the patient to stay at home longer than he otherwise would and helped the family and primary care team to cope with the added burden which resulted. Families seem to have been well satisfied with the help which was given and there were considerable savings in cost to the health service.