With more than 200,000 Ugandans in need of palliative care and only 10 percent currently receiving it, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has advised an urgent increase in access to palliative care services for patients with life-threatening infections. WHO advisor on HIV/AIDS, Dr Innocent Nuwagira, speaking on behalf of the country representative Dr Joachim Saweka, […]
Category: News
New deal needed for UK patients at end of life
In a report published this week, the National Council for Palliative Care (NCPC) calls for more open discussion on dying and death and greater accountability when end of life care falls below acceptable standards. ‘No Dress Rehearsals’, examines how end of life care is measuring up three years on from the publication of the government’s […]
Workshop urges African women to tackle the issue of pain associated with HIV and Aids
Research into pain associated with specific illnesses shows that the pain related to HIV and AIDS is even more severe than that associated with cancer, and yet AIDS is generally not acknowledged or managed as a painful disease. At an Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)-funded workshop presented by Dr Natalya Dinat of the […]
First palliative care law introduced to New York
New York has passed a new bill which outlines in simple terms the specific standards for doctors and nurse practitioners caring for terminally ill patients. The Palliative Care Information Act (PCIA) states that when a disease has advanced to the terminal stage and a patient is unlikely to survive six months, doctors must offer to […]
Palliative care more readily available to US patients than ever before
A report released by the Center to Advance Palliative Care, in conjunction with the National Palliative Care Research Center (NPCRC), shows promising growth in palliative care services in US hospitals. The analysis confirmed that hospital-based palliative care teams have doubled since 2000 and now as many as 63 percent of US hospitals (with more than […]
NICE consults on draft quality standard on end of life care
NICE is developing Quality Standards – a set of qualitative statements and quantitative measurements that act as a final distillation of clinical best practice – and is now requesting comments on 20 quality statements on end of life care. The aim of the standards is to clarify what high quality care looks like in relation to […]
Andrew Lansley announced as keynote speaker at ‘Widening Horizons’ conference
Secretary of state for health, Andrew Lansley, will deliver the keynote address at the Help the Hospices conference ‘Widening Horizons’ on 26 September 2011. Andrew Lansley’s appearance comes at a pivotal time for the sector, and acknowledges both his support and recognition of the hospice sector to date. To register, or for more information about […]
SHORT CUTS
Articles of interest in other scholarly journals Click on the article headings to view the abstracts A systematic review of combination step III opioid therapy in cancer pain: An EPCRC opioid guideline project Fallon MT, Laird BJ. Palliat Med 2011; 25 (5): 597-603 As the use of combinations of opioids is a common clinical practice […]
Call for applications: ‘The Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care’ course
The MA/PG Dip, The Ethics of Cancer and Palliative Care, is a well established course, the only one of its kind within the UK, having run successfully for the past 20 years. Open to all healthcare professionals it aims to deepen participants’ understanding of healthcare ethics in the fields related to cancer and palliative care. […]
Launch of Palliative Care Funding Review could result in a fairer funding system for end of life care
An independent Palliative Care Funding Review released today recommends to the Government the introduction of the first ever palliative care funding structure in England, which could save the NHS up to £180 million per year and result in better care for patients at the end of life. The Review found that of the 457,000 people […]