World Palliative Care Day: the importance of supporting and relieving a patient’s pain

The World Palliative Care Day aims to provide information and demand that countries ensure that people with progressive and terminal chronic illnesses can access this care as part of essential health coverage.

The theme chosen for this year is “Leaving No One Behind: Equity in Access to Palliative Care ”. “Although we are not yet in a position to celebrate given that only 14% of the world’s population has access to this type of essential care for people with incurable diseases, we continue to work for make this specialty of medicine a fair process that can reach all who need it», He explained to Infobae the doctor Jorge Dureaume (MN 104043), responsible for pain and palliative care at Sanatorio Güemes.

In Argentina, the percentage is even lower: Estimates from the Argentine Association of Medicine and Palliative Care (AAMyCP) show that access in the country is less than 5%.

“Palliative care aims to relieve the suffering and symptoms of patients whose illnesses have not yet been cured, and to support them and their families in chronic and end-of-life processes. When medicine cannot cure, the most urgent thing is to relieve, treat and support, for this it is important to have health workers who have a solid and adequate training and fundamentally empathy, able to be available and accessible in all health areas of our society, ”added Dureaume, who is also a member of the Palliative Care Committee of the Argentinian Medical Association.

The expert recalled that today there is a bill in Congress with a half-sanction in the senators which needs a yes or a yes to reach the Chamber of Deputies to be definitively law in Argentina. “Some countries in the region have reached this degree of legitimacy and are developing the three fundamental pillars of any medical service: academic training, the constitution of healthcare teams at the public and private levels, and clinical research. In accordance with this plan, this week we carried out the Second International Symposium on Palliative Care Together to the NGO Ecancer in the United Kingdom, with more than 1,420 registered and 50 speakers from all over the world, ”said Dureaume.

“Palliative care relies on a tripod, which is good symptom control, good information management and creative support. They form a model of care that improves the quality of life of patients with chronic or terminal illnesses, and that of their families, through the prevention and control of suffering that is possible through early identification, assessment. and adequate treatment of pain, as well as other physical, psychosocial and spiritual problems ”, explained the doctor. Silvio Pederiva, specialist in palliative care.

According to World Health Organization (WHO), majority of adults requiring palliative care suffer from cardiovascular disease (38.5%), cancer (34%), chronic respiratory disease (10.3%), HIV / AIDS (5.7%) and diabetes (4.6%).

Other conditions that may require palliative care include: kidney failure, chronic liver disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease, rheumatoid arthritis, neurological disease, dementia, birth defects, and drug-resistant tuberculosis .

According to the WHO definition, “Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients (adults and children) and their families when they are faced with the problems inherent in a potentially fatal disease. They prevent and relieve suffering through the early identification, assessment and correct treatment of pain and other problems, whether physical, psychosocial or spiritual. Palliative care programs use teamwork to support patients and their caregivers. This work includes taking care of practical needs and psychological support during bereavement. Palliative care offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible. “

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