The theme for the 6th annual World Hospice and Palliative Care Day held on October 12, 2019 is “My Care, My Right”.
This unified day of action to celebrate hospice and support palliative care around the world reminds us that every man, woman and child has the right to have access to palliative care. “Together, we can put an end to unnecessary pain and distress during illness and at the end-of-life.”
This annual worldwide event also alerts governments about their responsibility to provide resources to ensure palliative care services for patients.
Since June 1999 in France the law “aims to guarantee palliative care” to everyone, regardless of their resources, social environment, place of residence or illness.
The SFAP, Société Française d’Accompagnement et soins Palliatifs (French Society for Accompaniment and Palliative Care), which was founded in 1990, reminds us on this occasion that “palliative care can be very cost-effective. Increased access to the main affordable opioids for managing pain and other symptoms is urgently needed. “
In 2018, according to the CNSPFV, Centre national des soins palliatifs et de la fin de vie, (National Center for Palliative and End-of-Life Care), in France about 60% of people with life-limiting illnesses required palliative care. Among these individuals, almost 50% actually received palliative care either in hospitals, in nursing homes or at home.
The Palliative Care Development Plan was completed in 2018 in this country, and has not yet been renewed. The French Health Minister sent her assessment to the General Inspectorate of Social Affairs (“IGAS”) before creating a new plan.
