Defining best practices in palliative care in Europe

Palliative care is not just about pain relief, albeit an important component, but embraces a wide range of patient care, with the aim of improving the quality of a patient's life and upholding his or her sense of dignity. Palliative care - not to be confused with 'care at any cost'- implies the involvement of patients' families, as active caregivers as well as people to take care of: their quality of life is also a primary objective.

Moreover, palliative care requires a multi-disciplinary approach: it requires a sound medical basis, but in order to be effective it should address the full range of patients' needs. Therefore, beside the physical sphere, the psychological, social and the spiritual dimensions warrant the same degree of attention: doctors and nurses should be working together with other specialists covering all domains. So, to summarise, we may say that palliative care is not just about health, it is also about human dignity.'

The European Union gives the utmost importance to human dignity. Therefore, the European Commission decided in 2006 to fund the project 'Defining best practices in palliative care in Europe' (Europall), coördinated by Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre.

During this conference the results will be presented of the 'Europall project'. All participants will recieve a copy of the book 'Assessing Organisations to Improve palliative Care in Europe.

SOURCE alphagalileo.org