Hope, palliative care is part of the right to health

- "Hospices and palliative care represent a piece of the defense of people's right to health. They are fully within Article 32 of the Constitution". This was stated by Health Minister Roberto Speranza, participating in the workshop "Networks and pathways of palliative care: assistance, training and research" in Rome today.
"I think - he added - that it is fundamental to do all that is necessary so that this support service, in a particularly delicate phase of life, can truly be extended to the whole country. It is fundamental, I will move in this direction".
In Europe, annually, 560 adult patients per 100,000 inhabitants need to receive palliative care in the last period of life, the experts pointed out at the workshop. The Demetra I study, whose first results were presented during the event, monitored the path of the patients in conditions of advanced and complex chronicity, and of their families, taken in charge by one of the structures that make up the Local Care Networks Palliative, and has demonstrated how a model of care integrated between Primary Care and Home-based Palliative Care Units can adequately respond to the needs of patients with developmental diseases and limited life expectancy, expanding the population that can benefit from palliative care. Among the points of attention that emerged from the workshop remain the importance of standardizing, at the regional level, the development of local palliative care networks, the identification of the minimum requirements for accreditation and the adoption of homogeneous organizational models. Finally, the value of training courses for healthcare workers, both in relation to university education and the achievement of continuing medical education (ECM) credits. To date, in fact, Palliative Care is not yet included among the teachings of the Master's Degree in Medicine and Surgery, while according to what emerged from the event it would be necessary to establish a specific Medical Specialty. (ANSA).