2 December 2025 – Liz Bryan

A time and place to die

You matter to your last breath, because you are you

Given the choice, most people would prefer to die in familiar surroundings, at home or in a well-resourced care home. Yet over 50% of us will die in hospital, and all too often that experience is poor, leaving relatives and friends distressed. In short, the NHS is funding what is often inadequate and inappropriate care to those approaching the end of life, whilst there is expertise and evidence of far more compassionate and person-centred care available in the voluntary sector, but only to a minority of people.

The situation is complicated further when Parliament, under public pressure, is working on legislation to allow physician-assisted dying paid for by the NHS, while hospice services (now predominantly provided in the community) remain almost totally reliant on charitable funding to help a small minority of people die with dignity.

Could we do better? Liz Bryan considers how we have got to this situation and what can be done about it, with practical applications for ourselves and our loved ones.

Liz Bryan

Liz Bryan is experienced in palliative care nursing, counselling psychotherapy, and adult education. Liz lectured part-time at the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing, Midwifery and Palliative Care at Kings College London for 12 years, supporting the delivery of evidence-based palliative and end of life care academic education. In 2013 took up the post of Director of Education and Training at St Christopher’s Hospice.

Liz is now an independent palliative and end of life care education consultant, and Senior Associate at St Christopher’s CARE. Liz designed and delivers the Quality End of Life Care for All (QELCA) programme, in use in China and Brazil as well as the UK.