Survey of hospice and palliative care inpatient units in the UK and Ireland, 1993.

A survey of the inpatient palliative care services throughout Great Britain and Ireland was undertaken, enquiring about activity for the year 1993. This is one in a series of annual surveys of the various aspects of palliative care. Questionnaires were sent out at the end of April 1994, and 174 replies were received from 200 initially sent (87%). Replies were analysed by the Hospice Information Service. The report gives details of admissions, deaths and discharges and considers length of patient stay and bed occupancy. A discussion of the apparent discrepancies in the reported statistics is included. Palliative care for children is separately considered, and admissions of noncancer patients are detailed.