One In Five People Will Face A 'shameful' Death - Could It Be You?

Most people are unprepared for the shameful reality of how they could die, warns the author of a new book charting the social history of dying. Although the majority of people imagine they will grow old and die in their sleep, surrounded by friends and family, one in five people will die what previous generations would consider a 'shameful' death - alone, ravaged by dementia and without dignity. The deaths of more than half of the population will be 'managed' by medical professionals following serious injury or ill-health, with a small proportion dying suddenly, and often unexpectedly. The rapid increase of the shameful death is being fuelled by an ageing population and a lack of foresight over how to deal with the ultimate consequences of the medical advances which keep people alive for longer. "Most people think only fleetingly about how they will die, and usually it surrounds some romantic notion of dying in our sleep at home," said Allan Kellehear, Professor of Sociology at the University of Bath and author of the new book A social history of dying (please note - this is NOT an academic text). "This notion couldn't be further from the truth; we are significantly more likely to die a lonely prolonged death in a nursing home or hospital, preceded by multiple organ failure, pneumonia or dementia.