Half of the patients who currently need palliative care do not have access to it, due to a lack of human resources and suitable structures. Before the passage of the bill on the end of life in the Council of Ministers which opens the right to a controversial “assisted death”, the government has committed to providing a financial effort which should allow the creation of additional beds at the hospital, but also entry into the university of a palliative care specialty to train caregivers.
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The development of this care for patients at the end of life was a condition sine qua none to the legalization of assisted dying. The government’s objective is to be able to systematically offer palliative care to all patients who meet the criteria for access to assisted dying. Today, said the Minister of Health Catherine Vautrin on Saturday in an interview with World detailing the Executive’s strategy on palliative care, renamed ” accompanying “, ” only 30% of minors and 50% of adults who need it have access to it “.
“ In 2034, we will have 2.7 billion euros devoted to supportive care. That is 1.1 billion more than today ”, with a gradual increase in load, she said.
Units, additional beds and training
This new envelope will be spread over ten years. But the project of end of life law will be discussed by the deputies from this month of May and could therefore be validated during the year. The Minister of Health therefore wishes to act quickly by providing all of France with palliative care units by 2025, while today 19 departments still do not have them. In total, this corresponds to 220 additional beds, out of the 1,540 currently available.
The bill also provides for the creation of “ support houses », places other than the hospital, to accommodate seriously ill people who do not wish to be monitored at home.
But how can all these systems work when 30% of positions in existing structures are vacant? Response from the ministry: emphasize training by creating a specialty “ palliative medicine » in academic courses. Within ten years, 16% more patients will need this palliative care.
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