Former US president Jimmy Carter to receive hospice care at home

Former US president Jimmy Carter has decided to receive hospice care and “spend his remaining time at home with his family”, his representatives have said.

It follows a series of brief hospital stays for the 98-year-old, the Carter Centre said in a statement.

Mr Carter, the oldest living former US president, opted for hospice care “instead of additional medical intervention”, the statement said.

It added that he has the full support of his medical team and family, which “asks for privacy at this time and is grateful for the concern shown by his many admirers”.

In recent years, Mr Carter suffered from several health issues including a melanoma that spread to his liver and brain.

Following the announcement, senior US politicians sent messages of support to Mr Carter.

Georgia senator Reverend Raphael Warnock wrote on Twitter: “President Jimmy Carter, a man of great faith, has walked with God. In this tender time of transitioning, God is surely walking with him.

“May he, Rosalynn & the entire Carter family be comforted with that peace and surrounded by our love & prayers.”

New York senator Chuck Schumer said he was “praying for President Carter and his family”.

Mr Carter, a Democrat, became the 39th US president when he defeated former president Gerald Ford in 1976.

He served a single term and was defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in 1980.

After his term in office, Mr Carter largely receded from electoral politics, instead opening The Carter Centre with his wife and former first lady, Rosalynn, 95, which last year marked its 40th year.

The centre paved the way for the former president’s decades of global advocacy for democracy, public health and human rights, and is now run by the couple’s grandson James Carter.

In a tweet posted on Saturday, James Carter said that he recently saw both of his grandparents, writing: “They are at peace and – as always – their home is full of love.”

In 2015, having had a mass removed from his liver, Mr Carter said: “I’m perfectly at ease with whatever comes.

“I’ve had an exciting, adventurous and gratifying existence.”