In Italy “timely access to adequate end-of-life care to alleviate symptoms for people in the terminal stage stands at 35%. But this figure, as far as we know, differs profoundly in the geographical areas of our country: if it is relevant for the Northern regions, unfortunately it is not relevant for the Southern areas where the average drops to 23% with peaks below 20% in some cases”. This is what the president of the Gigi Ghirotti Foundation said, Vincenzo Morgante, on the occasion of the presentation of the XXII Relief Day. The data arriving from the palliative care and pain therapy monitoring observatory set up by the Foundation, added Morgante, “confirm persistent territorial inhomogeneities that generate unacceptable inequalities: from the difficulty of accessing accredited pain therapy centres, especially in the -south, to waiting lists. An odyssey for many people often forced to turn to private structures or to migrate to other Regions with unsustainable economic costs”, continued the president of the Ghirotti Foundation who addressed an appeal to the institutions: “the ministry della Salute sends the annual report to Parliament on the state of implementation of the legislation, the last one dates back to January 2019”.
RELIEF DAY, OVER 130 INITIATIVES THROUGHOUT ITALY
Over the next few days there will be over 130 initiatives promoted by the Regions and autonomous Provinces throughout the country for the XXII Relief Day which is celebrated on 28 May. Conferences, training appointments, free visits for pain assessment, concerts, communication initiatives on social networks. “Events that are the tangible sign of constant and widespread attention to the culture of relief, of the commitment of the world of volunteering and of health structures that have acted in symbiosis with significant realities of civil society and the territory”, said Alessia Grillo, director general of the Conference of Regions and Autonomous Provinces during the presentation event of the Day who announced a collection of best practices in the field of pain management. “Today we can understand what has been done in recent years”, said the councilor for health of Emilia-Romagna and coordinator of the health commission of the Conference of Regions Raffaele Donini. “The best practices that have been collected are such if we exchange them. We will take care to make them a common use and make sure that they serve as an incentive so that they can be emulated where they are not practiced,” he added.
SCHILLACI, BY 2028 PALLIATIVE CARE FOR 90% OF THE POPULATION
“In the 2023 budget law we intervened by asking the Regions and Autonomous Provinces to present a plan to strengthen palliative care by 30 January each year to reach 90% of the population concerned by the year 2028. Agenas has already started monitoring of the implementation of the plan”. This was announced by the Minister of Health Orazio Schillaci speaking at the presentation of the XXII National Relief Day. The minister also announced that 17 universities have already activated the specialization school in Palliative Care Medicine and that 112 doctors have already had access to the course. “The Constitution protects health as a fundamental right: strengthening palliative care means guaranteeing this right to individuals and families when they are truly most fragile”, added Schillaci. However “palliative care is often delivered with piecemeal care, with many hospitalizations often providing inappropriate, expensive and unsatisfying hospital treatments”. Despite the progress, added the minister, “we still need to work to ensure fair and uniform access to care throughout the country”. From this point of view, the territorial health reform included in the Pnrr will be able to “strengthen territorial and proximity assistance also for those in need of pain therapy”, he concluded.
FEDRIGA, HOME CARE IS DECISIVE FOR PAIN THERAPY
“We certainly need to increase the number of hospices and the number of people they can provide care for. But the home part can make a revolution if we manage to implement it and create a great alliance to bring solutions that have two advantages: guaranteeing a greater number of people the answer and improve the answer we give”. So the president of the Conference of Regions Massimiliano Fedriga speaking at the presentation of the 23rd National Relief Day, which will be celebrated on May 28th. “Law 38 has made great progress for our country and created the conditions for guaranteeing rights”, added Fedriga, underlining how the law on pain therapy has however only represented the beginning of a process. “The full implementation of law 38 is a challenge that does not belong to someone, but belongs to everyone. On this we will measure the quality and level of democracy and rights in our country”, he concluded.