Objective  To examine manpower and equipment resources of hospice care institutions in Guangzhou city and to provide references for optimizing resources allocation and promoting hospice care service.

  Methods  A structured questionnaire survey was conducted in 13 medical institutions providing hospice care service in Guangzhou city between September and November 2016.

  Results  The total number of beds for the 13 institutions was 2 437, 672 (27.6%) of which were the beds for hospice care. There were 1 259 medical staff, including 492 medical practitioners, 767 registered nurses, and 522 nursing workers and the ratio of nurse/bed was 0.3:1 for the 13 institutions. Only 4 of the 13 institutions provided the annual on-the-job training programs of more than 30 hours to the nurses. The total number of hospitalization was 14 808 person times during the previous one year for the 13 institutions, 2 662 (18%) of which were the hospitalizations for hospice care. The hospitalization days for the inpatients receiving terminal care ranged from 15 to 89 days. The top three causes of death for the inpatients under hospice care were cardiovascular disease, cerebrovascular disease, and advanced malignant tumor. Among the institutions, 2 set no limit for visiting hours for family members of the impatients.

  Conclusion  There are severe shortages of hospice care-related beds and resources allocation in Guangzhou city; in addition, the coverage of hospice care is low and the quality of hospice care service is not good. Concerns should be paid to these situations to improve hospice care in the city.