October 14 is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

Today, on the World Day of Hospice and Palliative Care, allow me to express the words of deep respect and gratitude to all those involved in one way or another in the work with palliative patients.

I strongly believe that caring for a dying person is not a job, but a service, the value of which cannot be measured by anything.

Therefore, I wish all doctors, nurses, social workers, nurses, clergymen, volunteers who work in hospices, palliative departments, field teams, God's blessing, great patience, faith, love, and hope that society will finally appreciate your work properly.

Sincerely, Head of the NGO "Ukrainian League development of palliative care and hospice care"

Vasyl Knyazevich

For reference:

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is celebrated annually on the second Saturday of October. Its organizer is the World Alliance of Palliative Care, which includes national and regional organizations that support the development of hospice and palliative care around the world.

The main goal of the World Day of Hospice and Palliative Care is to increase the awareness of the world public about the problems of palliative care and hospices, to increase understanding of the medical, social and spiritual needs of people with incurable diseases; to promote the establishment and development of charitable foundations capable of supporting and developing the hospice and palliative care movement throughout the world.

In 2017, World Hospice and Palliative Care Day falls on October 14.

Hospice is a specialized medical institution for the care of terminally ill people in the last stages of life. The philosophy of hospice states that hospice is not a "house of death" but a "house of life."

Palliative care:

• relieves pain and other symptoms that cause concern;
• affirms life and treats dying as a natural process;
• does not seek to speed up or delay the onset of death;
• includes psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care;
• offers patients a support system that will enable them to live as actively as possible until death;
• offers a support system for the patient's relatives during his illness, as well as during the period of bereavement;
• uses a multidisciplinary team approach to meet the needs of patients and their relatives, including during the period of bereavement, if necessary;
• increases the quality of life and can, as a result, positively affect the course of the disease.