QJM : monthly journal of the Association of Physicians
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In our institution, about one third of annual deaths occur on the general medical teaching unit. (MTU) The average patient dies on the MTU from non-malignant disease after 4 weeks in hospital, and approximately 20% of available beds on the MTU at any time are occupied by patients who will not survive to discharge, but quality of end-of-life care on the MTU is not routinely assessed. ⋯ Earlier discussions about treatment failure and end-of-life care, and the need for palliation, appear to be central to improving the quality of end-of-life care for patients dying on our medical teaching unit. Our results are consistent with other studies in this area.