- Title: As number of elderly Japanese swell, dying at home seen becoming more common
- Date: 20th November 2017
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 12, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ONODERA CHECKING UP ON SATO SATO SHAKING HIS HEAD ONODERA WRITING NOTES IRUMA DISTRICT, JAPAN (FILE - OCTOBER 31, 2017) (REUTERS) SUN SETTING BEHIND MOUNTAIN RANGE TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 8, 2017) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF SATO'S APARTMENT BUILDING TOKYO, JAPAN (FILE - SEPTEMBER 13, 2017) (REUTERS) SATO'S ARM FUNERAL UNDERTAKERS CARRYING SATO'S DEAD BODY FROM HIS BED INTO A BODY BAG SATO'S SHIRTS AND A PHOTO OF SATO'S GRANDMOTHER HANGING ON WALL SATO'S EMPTY BED SATO'S BELONGINGS ON COFFEE TABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT BEING TAKEN OUT OF SATO'S ROOM REMAINING EQUIPMENT IN ROOM UNDERTAKERS ARRANGING CLOTH INSIDE SATO'S COFFIN CANDLE UNDERTAKERS PLACING SATO'S COFFIN INSIDE MORTUARY CHAMBER
- Embargoed: 4th December 2017 07:40
- Keywords: ageing hospitals hospice dying home
- Location: TOKYO, IRUMA DISTRICT, JAPAN
- City: TOKYO, IRUMA DISTRICT, JAPAN
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA00378F3LTX
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: With limited medical facilities available to accommodate Japan's rapidly ageing population, some elderly Japanese choose to die at home.
When diagnosed with leukaemia in July, Katsuo Saito decided not to treat it, opting for palliative care. But he had a hard time finding a hospice or hospital with beds available, so he spent his last weeks at home.
"There are about 20 people on the waiting lists," said 89-year-old Saito from his old fifth-floor apartment in Tokyo where he was living alone.
Many Japanese resist the idea of dying at home because they feel hospitals are safer and don't want to burden family members who would need to care for them. Over 80 percent of Japanese prefer to die in a hospital, according to the Yamato Clinic.
But in this rapidly aging society the practice could well become more common as the number of elderly swells, with one in four already over 65, and hospital beds become more scarce, especially in cities. Officials predict a shortage of over 470,000 beds by 2030.
Hospice care at home is still relatively rare in Japan -- something physician Yuu Yasui hopes to change. His clinic has overseen more than 500 home deaths since 2013.
"I think it's good to have a doctor supporting people who choose to spend their final days and naturally face death in a place they spent their days living," Yasui said.
He said that with the number of elderly probably doubling in some cities in coming decades, beds could become scarce due to government efforts to keep health care costs from rising further by capping the number of beds - although a health ministry official said that was unlikely to happen.
One contributing factor is Japan's tendency to long hospitalisations. In 2015, according to an OECD survey, the average stay was 16.5 days, compared to six in the United Kingdom.
In addition, single hospital rooms, uncovered by Japanese national insurance except for special reasons, can be expensive, making privacy tough for pensioners like Yasuhiro Sato, 75, a terminal lung cancer patient.
"It's okay," he grumbled in his apartment, where caregivers stopped by under Yasui's direction to check in on him. Without close family or friends, he is solitary most of the time. "I will go to the afterlife quietly, alone," he said.
When Sato died on Sept 13, the only people in his apartment were doctors, carers and undertakers.
Mitsuru Niinuma, 69, chose home care partly to be with his beloved dachshund, Rin, and to spend more time with his grandson.
"Home care allows people to use their abilities to their fullest, and you can relax," he said. "That's not so easy in a hospital".
Leukaemia patient Saito finally found a hospice spot in September. Two days after he moved in, he died. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
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