Problem #1: Pain relief remains unavailable

As part of the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, which this year is celebrated on October 14, a press conference and performance "Alice's Journey to Switzerland" was held at the National Academic Drama Theater named after Ivan Franko.

During the press conference, the participants talked about the level of provision of narcotic painkillers for terminally ill patients, staffing problems in palliative care departments and the state of palliative care in Kyiv.

As  the head of the NGO "Ukrainian League for the Development of Palliative and Hospice Care" Vasyl Knyazevich noted , changes in approaches to the topic of palliative care are taking place rather slowly in Ukraine. "Ending life with dignity is one of the most important tasks that society should set for itself. We have examples, we have someone to look up to. But, unfortunately, not everything can be done by our public organization, which constantly encourages the state to solve the problem of terminally ill patients. We want to draw society's attention to this topic. When there is poverty, aggression, when sympathy is quite difficult to achieve, we still hope to find a response and understanding in the hearts of people," emphasized Vasyl Knyazevich.

He noted that next year it is important  to remove the problem of access to pain relief, to train everyone who wants to be qualified in palliative care, and to establish a volunteer movement  in the system of palliative and hospice care, which is significantly different from traditional volunteering.

Acting Valentina Ginzburg, Director of the Department of Health Care of the KMDA  , noted that the Kyiv City State  Administration   is aware of the problems of terminally ill patients. "Unfortunately, problems do exist, but they are not solved within 1-2 months. At the same time, work has already begun with the specialized department of palliative and hospice medicine of the National Academy of Medical Sciences named after P. L. Shupyk on the training of medical workers. Also, a joint working group of doctors and social workers has already been created to develop a program that can be implemented today," Ginsburg said.

She informed about the institutions that provide palliative care in the capital and emphasized: "The opportunities in the capital's hospitals are different and the conditions are different, but all managers in the city administration are convinced of the need for repairs. It is assumed that mobile teams will also be created on the basis of palliative departments of hospitals. In the summer, we already opened one such mobile brigade for children on the basis of the Kyiv City Clinical Skin and Venereal Hospital. By the end of the year, there will be a conclusion of the Ukrderzbudexpertiza, there will be documents, and next year we will open a palliative care department for children with 10 beds with all the conditions of stay."

In turn, Vasyl Knyazevich appealed to the mayor of the capital Vitaliy Klitschko to take urgent measures regarding the situation in the palliative department of the city hospital No. 10, where people are in terrible conditions. "I have never seen such a terrible department anywhere in Ukraine - the conditions are terrible, the smell, there are 3-4 dying patients in the wards. I want to take on such a mission and invite journalists and Mayor Klitschko to a press conference in March next year, so that by then the authorities of the capital will put this institution in order."

For reference

Reasons for the growing need for palliative and hospice care:

• rapid and relentless aging of the population, growth in the population of elderly people suffering from severe chronic incurable diseases;
• increase in morbidity and mortality from malignant neoplasms;
• spread of incurable diseases with pronounced chronic pain syndrome;
• by increasing the share of diseases with multi-resistant and extended resistance tuberculosis;
• high rates of spread of HIV infection/AIDS, hepatitis C and other serious infectious diseases.