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February 28-March 01, 2019 | Paris, France
Palliative Care, Obstetrics and Gynecology
Stroke and Clinical Trials
International Conference on
Joint Event on
International Conference on
&
Journal of Research and Reports in Gynecology and Obstetrics | Volume: 3
Specialist palliative care: Quo vadis – back to the future or time to change our spots?
Amy Proffitt
Association For Palliative Medicine of Great Britian and Ireland, UK
T
he demography of dying is changing and so must specialist
palliative care. We were a niche market managing selected
people dying with single diseases such as cancer, and a few
others like motor neurone disease, or amongst progressive
services, a multisystem problem such as AIDS or single organ
failures. And we are good at it, but too many people with
equivalent suffering, but the wrong diseases cannot access
services because they are not there. Data show that more of
the same is unaffordable and probably will not work anyway
because the population is different. Now, growing numbers of
people have partially treatable constellations of comorbidities
or are just old and their bodies arewearing out. Theymay not be
dying of anything specifically but together their comorbidities
arekilling them. This is palliative care’s emergingepidemic. Is the
way in which we have always managed the dying as specialists
fit for this new future? Yes and no. We propose in this session to
explore these challenges. We will use two different approaches
that are developing for just such populations: one for people
with far advanced heart failure and an approach known as ‘age-
attuned palliative care’ services so that they can accommodate
the frail and elderly. The approach is different although our core
values to help people conclude their lives well remain and early
data show that they are successful.
e:
amyproff@doctors.org.ukRes Rep Gynaecol Obstet, Volume 3
DOI: 10.4066/2591-7366-C1-003