As a physician specialising in hospice and palliative care for over two decades, I am often asked: “What is a good death?” While seemingly intuitive, there is no simple answer that applies to everyone. Preparing for death is really far more complex than most people think.

There has been much discussion of late surrounding dying at home. While it is encouraging that the topic of dying in place is finally put under the spotlight, we should not, however, oversimplify the matter.