Life At The End Should Have The Best Of Care

Newcastle Herald

Monday October 8, 2007

Article provided by Palliative Care Australia.

Pain-relief medication needs to go beyond aspirin for many people in their final days.

AN international report released today Access to Pain Relief an Essential Human Right has shown that about 80 per cent of the world's palliative care patients have no access to pain-relief medicines.

The report is released to mark World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, today, an international day of action to celebrate achievements in palliative care; to highlight the idea that everyone has a right to high-quality care at the end of their lives; and to outline what needs to be done to make this aim real.

Some countries have only aspirin to work with, but the main barrier to accessing effective pain medicine is often not cost but lack of education and training.

Other barriers include bureaucracy, excessively strict legislation, poorly developed health systems and a misplaced fear of addiction, abuse, tolerance and side effects of certain drugs.

Australians do have access to effective pain medicine, compared with other nations, said Donna Daniell, chief of Palliative Care Australia. But there was still a critical need for health professionals, patients and families to be educated about safe and appropriate use of effective pain medicines.

"We still see Australians experiencing pain that could have been prevented solely due to the impact of myths driven by poor information, skills and experience," Ms Daniell said.

"We join our world partners to call for co-ordinated international and national programs to increase awareness, education, supply and access to stop the millions who suffer pain needlessly."

She said community education made a big contribution to preventing pain.

Knowing about palliative care, where to find information and what to do or say could make a big difference to accessing quality care.

Palliative Care Australia's National Community Education Initiative includes a range of activities, including consumer resources, health professional education and the community organisations network.

There are specific palliative care listings in the Schedule of Pharmaceutical Benefits and work on researching new medicines in palliative care by the Palliative Care Clinical Studies Collaborative.

Australia has initiatives on track to reduce preventable pain.

For further information about initiatives to improve access to palliative care medicines go to: www.health.gov.au/internet/wcms/publishing.nsf/Content/palliativecare-program-prio2.

Article provided by Palliative Care Australia.

Reluctance

COMMENTS from health-care workers responding to the palliative care survey:

? "It is simply irrational that oral morphine is not available in the country. Lack of doctors, training, awareness and a cure-oriented approach (in) society, as well as the medical community, makes palliative medicine an unknown field."

? "(There is) fear at all levels of using opioids, even when they are available, including among specialist doctors."

? "In my 10 years' experience I have never seen a doctor suggest or prescribe opioids other than for cancer patients, and they dismiss out of hand suggestions to consider it for end-term AIDS patients, or end-stage patients with severe respiratory distress."

The palliative care report will be available to download in full through the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day website http://www.pallcare.org.au

© 2007 Newcastle Herald

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