National statistics that summarize the places of death of those who died in the country showed that the percentage of people who died at home increased in the two years until last year.
The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare says that more and more people are spending the final stages of their lives at home due to the prolonged corona disaster, and experts point out that it is necessary to develop a system that allows them to receive medical and nursing care at home.
According to the "Vital Statistics" released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare in September, the number of people who died in the last year was
1,439,856. This was
followed by
▼ “home” at 17.2%, and
▼ “nursing home” at 10%.
Of these, the percentage of those who died “at home” has consistently remained around 13% since the 2000s, with
▼13.6% in 2019,
▼15.7% in 2020, and
▼17.2% in 2021. It increased by 3.6 points in the two years up to last year.
On the other hand, “Hospital”, which has the highest percentage, decreased by 5.4 points from 71.3% in 2019 to 65.9% in 2021.
Regarding this, the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare said that the number of people who are spending the final stage of their lives at home is increasing as visitation restrictions continue at hospitals and facilities for the elderly due to the prolonged corona disaster, and there were people who could not be hospitalized even if they wanted to. I think that things are also affecting.
Dr. Kunio Nitta, the chairman of the Japan Home Care Alliance, which is made up of organizations involved in home medical and nursing care, said, "Many people wish to spend their last days at home, but in a super-aging society, Home medical care in Japan is still lacking in both quality and quantity, and in order to make it possible for those who want it to choose, it is necessary to create a system for each region that includes not only doctors but also home-visit nursing and nursing care." increase.