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In-home hospice nurse requirements revised to address shortage

Published: 14 Aug. 2025, 18:33

A husband holds the hand of his wife, who is terminally ill with cancer, at their home in Yongin, Gyeonggi, on March 27, 2023. [JOONGANG ILBO]

The government will relax staffing requirements for in-home hospice nurses in a bid to expand services that allow terminally ill patients to spend their final days at home with dignity.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Thursday it has prepared a partial amendment to the Enforcement Decree of the Act on Hospice and Palliative Care and Decisions on Life-Sustaining Treatment for Patients at the End of Life and will take opinions from the public regarding the amendment until Sept. 22.

Under the revision, in-home hospice services will be able to hire nurses with at least three years of experience in home-visit nursing. Facilities can currently only hire hospice specialist nurses, home-care specialist nurses or nurses with at least two years of relevant experience at a hospice facility.

The ministry expects the change to alleviate staffing shortages.

“The hospice sector is also facing a severe shortage of nurses,” a Health Ministry official said. “We aim to broaden the pool of qualified nurses to better support the operation of in-home facilities.”

The government confirmed its second Comprehensive Plan for Hospice and Life Sustaining Treatment last year.

Under the plan, the number of hospice facilities will be expanded from 188 in 2023 to 360 in 2028, including pediatric and long-term care hospital units. The number of in-home hospice services will be doubled from 39 to 80 over the same period.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]