THE majority of people in the North-East have not made plans for when they die, according to a new survey.

The survey, carried out on behalf of the Dying Matters Coalition, found that 72 per cent of people in the region have not discussed any aspect of end of life care wishes.

The British Social Attitudes research released to coincide with Dying Matters Awareness Week (May 13-19), finds encouraging signs that older people are increasingly taking action to make their end of life wishes known but that most people are leaving it too late.

This is despite the fact that 73 per cent of people in the North-East have been bereaved in the past five years, the highest level in Britain.

The study reveals that although 65 per cent of people in the North-East say they are comfortable talking about death, fewer than one in three people (29 per cent) have a will.

Just 19 per cent of people have registered as an organ donor or have a donor card, the lowest rate in Britain.

And only nine per cent of people have written down their funeral wishes/made a funeral plan.

One in fifty people in the North-East (two per cent) has an advance care plan, setting out how they would want to be cared for if they couldn't make decisions themselves and whether for example they would want to be resuscitated.

Latest NHS figures show that more than half of the population die in hospital yet just seven per cent would prefer to die in hospital, compared with two-thirds (67 per cent) who would prefer to die at home.