The Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Health Professor H.K. Segor has directed 15 district hospitals to introduce palliative care services.
In a letter to the County Executive Members of Health, Professor Segor requests the management at these hospitals to;
- Allocate space and provide equipment for palliative care
- Identify at least two palliative care providers who will be dedicated to the center
- Ensure availability of essential medicines and health products for palliative care
Further to this, the Principal Secretary indicates in the letter that arrangements will be made to train staff in facilities that have no staff qualified in palliative care.
In conclusion, the letter states that the Ministry of Health will liaise with the hospitals on various aspects required to establish functional palliative care units.
This is part of the ongoing process of integrating palliative care at different levels of health care as part of the implementation of the National Cancer Strategic Plan 2012 – 2017.
This directive comes at a time when the Executive Board of World Health Organisation (WHO) has adopted a resolution on palliative care that will be useful for palliative care advocates in their home countries to advocate for palliative care.
The resolution, ‘Strengthening of palliative care as a component of integrated treatment within the continuum of care’ to be referred to the World Health Assembly in May, urges countries to;
- Integrate palliative care into the health care systems
- To improve training for healthcare workers
- To ensure that relevant that relevant medicines, including strong pain medicines are available to patients
It (the resolution) urges WHO to increase its technical assistance to member countries on the development of palliative care services.
Read more on this resolution passed by WHO published on the International Edition of ehospice.
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