caringspain.com

Attention all doctors:

The key to better terminal care is taking time to listen to the patient!
(issued 14 feb 2006)

Recent studies at the University of Toronto have shown that a quarter of terminal patients felt their care could have been better.

But their impressions improved after a doctor spent time talking to them - according to a BBC NEWS report in 2004..

What’s more, UK Macmillan Cancer Relief commented that better training and suupport was needed to help NHS staff care for the terminally ill.

Patients and families identified need for better control of pain and of shortness of breath, better access to physicians and medical information, more help with the activities of daily living - and shorter waits for nursing care.

“It may not be rocket science,” said the project leader, “But if doctors take time to listen (to dying patients) it seems to make a difference!”

A Macmillan spokeswoman said they were working with Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Government to improve terminal care.
“Caring for a terminally ill patient is tough for everyone,” she added. “More training and support is needed for professionals…. as well as support for patients and their carers”.

Here in spain the same sort of situation exists, with the added difficulty of communication problems for patients who don’t speak the language! Asociación Caring Together, operating within Spanish Law, is facing similar problems head on.

At present most of our resources are devoted to the welfare of individual patients and their carers. It is only as income from supporters increases that they will be able to start training programmes and eventually to create Hospices as centres of excellence in palliative care (cuidados paliativos) in collaboration with the regional and national authorities.