Considerably more people have been able to die at home at no additional cost to the NHS by means of a pilot programme designed to improve liaison between hospitals and community services, according to an assessment published this week.

The UK cancer charity Marie Curie started the Delivering Choice programme in 2004 in Lincolnshire, in the east of England, to overcome many of the barriers that currently prevent terminally ill people from dying in their own homes.

Community link nurses were appointed at two hospitals in the area to help the speedy discharge of palliative care patients to their preferred place of care and to coordinate home care. A community based rapid response team was set up to provide planned and …