National efforts to improve care at the end of life should be speeded up to maintain the progress made in some parts of England, it has been claimed. The health policy think tank the King’s Fund has warned against a loss of momentum on England’s end of life care programme in a new report published this week and has questioned the government’s intention to leave a review of this area until 2013. Around 500 000 people die each year in England. More than half (55%) of deaths occur in hospital and only 20% at home. The government has said that several surveys have shown that most people’s preference is to die at home.