KERALA MUST IMPROVE QUALITY OF DEATH TOO

KERALA'S celebrated healthcare story has a downside.

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A recent study revealed that around 88 percent of the people in rural Kerala and 75 percent in urban areas die in hospitals, which is nearly double the European average. While this could be an indication of wider access to healthcare, the trend underlines increasing end-oflife expenses and raises questions about the quality of death. To put it in context, the proportion of the population dying in hospitals in the European Union is 44 percent, while in the UK it's 47 percent. Even these proportions, which are considered high, have goaded policymakers in the EU and UK to study the reasons and find ways to reduce them. The all-India average for deaths in hospita