Palliative and end of life care in primary care during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond: infrastructure, integration and involvement.

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to the highest death rate in the UK for over ten years (1). There has been a marked shift of place of death into the community, with 41,000 (39%) more people dying at home in 2020 compared to previous years (1). Nationally reported data identifies large changes in where people are dying, but little is understood about the circumstances of these deaths, the quality of end-of-life care in the community during the pandemic, or the services received (2, 3).