Dr Christopher Kerr says many hospice referrals come too late and calls it ‘medical harm’

What was said

"A third of our patients that come to hospice are dead in 7 days. They didn't just didn't start dying seven days. They became aware of it. So, what we do is we refer this as medical harm."

Hospice physician Dr Christopher Kerr says around a third of patients referred to his hospice service die within seven days of admission. He argues these patients did not only begin dying in that final week, but were only late in recognising it, and he says such delays amount to “medical harm” because they can deprive people of agency and time to spend as they choose and to have important family conversations.