In 1977, the first palliative home care programme in Sweden, the Motala hospital-based home care, was established to provide a high level of medical care on a 24-hour basis, as an alternative and a replacement to hospital care. The current study summarizes the care and organizational needs of 179 consecutive terminally ill cancer patients treated during a 10-year period. Of the patients, 70% came from acute clinics. The median time of care was 36 days. The need for help with activities of daily living was a significant predictor of the length of survival, with the greatest difference between four or less compared to five or six items (p = 0.0006). Analgesics were needed by 96% of the patients, and 78% were provided with various facilities such as hospital beds. The input of family members as primary caregivers was essential for successful care, as were security factors such as easy availability of a nurse or doctor, at any time day or night, and an immediate, guaranteed hospital bed, if needed. As many as 89% of the patients who wished to live at home until death actually did so. We conclude that hospital-based home care according to the Motala model can replace hospital care for selected patients, but only if both the patient and the family approve.