Almost 60% of medical workers do not want to work with terminally ill patients

Only 20% of doctors believe that they have knowledge of palliative and hospice care, and about 60% do not want to work with palliative patients - these are the results of the research of the Shupyk National Academy of Medical Sciences, which were announced during the meeting of the Board of the NGO "Ukrainian League for the Development of Palliative and Hospice Care" (hereinafter - the League) with the participation of representatives of regional centers.

"According to the survey, 56% of the surveyed medical workers have some knowledge of palliative care, 24% do not, and only 20% believe that they have knowledge of palliative and hospice care," said Anatolii Tsarenko, deputy chairman of the League's board. Adding to the optimism is the fact that 86% of healthcare workers believe they need knowledge of palliative and hospice care.

During the meeting, which was devoted to the problem of personnel shortage, it was emphasized that   the WHO is currently expanding the definition of palliative care and may increase the limited life expectancy forecast to 2 years. This clearly indicates that family doctors will pay more attention to palliative patients.

Today, the question remains unanswered: who should determine the status of a palliative patient and by what document? "According to the 41st order of the Ministry of Health, this should be done by the attending physician. But the family doctor is unlikely to take responsibility to say that the usual treatment is over, and we are moving on to palliative treatment. There should be some commissions that should include members of ethics committees. Therefore, every doctor should have knowledge about palliative care. And this requires a significant expansion of the training system of our personnel," Tsarenko emphasized.

During the meeting, the participants made a special emphasis on the issue of repurposing medical institutions. Experts fear that some hospitals will be repurposed as hospices and palliative care units without proper re-equipment.

"There are wards for 6 people, there are ragged walls and wet ceilings. It is important for us that the signs on the premises are not changed in the regions, the main thing is to prevent discrediting of the repurposing of medical facilities," said the deputy head of the League. He called on representatives from the regions to monitor these processes and respond to possible violations in a timely manner. After all, until there is a standard of palliative care, a standard of maintenance of a palliative patient, we cannot talk about building an effective system.

Members of the League insist on the urgent introduction of knowledge about palliative care among doctors of all levels:

The basic level is for all medical workers and especially for primary care doctors;

Intermediate level - for improving the qualifications of medical workers of various specialties who often provide palliative care (cardiologists, traumatologists, oncologists, surgeons, etc.);

The higher specialized level is for doctors and mid-level medical workers who specialize in palliative and hospice care.

Regional branches of the League have been instructed to study the situation with the teaching of relevant disciplines in medical institutions of 3-4 levels of accreditation.

In addition, it is recommended to pay more attention to multidisciplinary approaches and combine medical and social services so that the patient can lead a maximally active lifestyle until death. Therefore, the role of the family doctor in providing care to the palliative patient increases significantly. By the way, despite the fact that the Ministry of Social Policy has approved the palliative care standard, social workers reluctantly agree to work with palliative patients.