Nursing home matron jane rogers has written to the secretary of state for health asking for urgent action on the inappropriate placement of terminal patients as dependent elderly people in nursing homes

When a person is dying with a disease such as cancer, their treatment is dependen upon their symptoms: symptom control. This care cannot be planne around district nurse visits as the condition of these people can change from hour to hour. Apart from basic hygiene and counselling, the care needed tends to be pain control, control of nausea and vomiting and, in some cases, frequent dressings, pressure area care and bowel care. In the great majority of people, this symptom control consists of injections and suppositories.