“We will all have one day, during our existence, to support at least one person close to us at risk of addiction.” The experts gathered at a conference organized on October 8, a few days before World Palliative Care Day, are categorical: palliative medicine is part of our lives. This care mainly concerns the relief of pain, psychological, social and psychic suffering, the protection of dignity and the support of those around the patient.
A multidisciplinary team tries to ensure the best possible quality of life for patients suffering from a serious, progressive or terminal illness until their death. Palliative care can be provided in an institution or at home and place of residence (retirement home, long stay), depending on the patient’s wishes and the capacity of those around him.
According to Law n ° 99-477 of June 9, 1999 “Any sick person whose condition so requires has the right to access palliative care and support”. However, “65% of French people do not know about palliative care”, alarms Doctor Vincent Morel, president of the company of support and palliative care.
This ignorance can give rise to distress and suffering that could be avoided, which is why medical professionals and the associations concerned are campaigning to promote end-of-life support throughout the world. “Our goal is not to help a person die, but rather to help the sick to live in the most comfortable way possible with their disease. They are full living people and not patients on borrowed time. or the dying “, writes on his site the French Society for Support and Palliative Cares.
Professor Didier Sicard, author of an end of life report submitted to the President of the Republic on December 18, 2012, denounces for its part an ill-suited follow-up. He would like palliative medicine not to be put in place just two weeks before the patient’s death, but for a specialized team to take care of him between six months and a year before that time. For the moment, the national palliative care resource center strives to help the people concerned and their relatives by providing an interactive platform : a collection of information that facilitates palliative approaches.
If you want to provide concrete help, the founding ASP association is looking for new volunteers to support patients and promote the palliative culture after the general public. For more information, visit the website www.aspfondatrice.org.