Access to palliative care services for members of disadvantaged rural communities
Over 170,000 people need palliative care annually in Romania, but only just over 10 percent of them actually benefit from such services. An initiative funded by the Norway Grants 2014-2021 aims to support this category of people in difficulty, especially those in rural communities where access to health services is limited.
The initiative is called “PALCommunity – Increasing access to palliative care for beneficiaries from disadvantaged communities”, belongs to the organization Hospice Casa Speranței and benefits from the financial support of the Local Development Programme, operated by the Romanian Social Development Fund. Through it, 1,500 children and adults with progressive chronic diseases from over 100 small, disadvantaged rural and urban communities in Alba, Bacău, Bihor, Brașov, Giurgiu and Ilfov counties will be included in palliative care programs.
“Beyond the actual support we aim to provide for approximately 1,500 patients suffering from progressive chronic diseases, as well as for their families, the aim of this project is to develop an integrated and coordinated model of palliative care services, which can be taken over later in other communities. Also, the project aims at training 170 specialists involved in the care of beneficiaries and information in the field of palliation”, said, during the launch event, Mrs. Petruța Anania, project coordinator.
In the case of patients with basic needs, palliative care interventions will be provided by professionals from the communities where the project is implemented. In the case of patients with complex needs, they will be supported by specialized teams of care at home, in outpatient clinics or in day centers of the partner organizations in the project. In order to improve the situation of the beneficiaries’ families, the approach also includes measures for mediating conflicts, providing support and information, as well as other types of working tools, customized to their needs.
The launch event was organized online, Wednesday, August 11, 2021, and enjoyed the presence of representatives of project partners – Brașov County Council, Lumina Association from Bacău, Hospice Eliana from Alba and Hospice Emanuel from Oradea -, local public authorities from localities targeted by the project and of the Health Insurance Houses from the intervention counties.
The project “PALCommunity – Increasing access to palliative care for beneficiaries from disadvantaged communities”, implemented in the next 30 months, benefits from a grant of 2,091,652 euros, being funded under the call Local Development, which has proposed to contribute to increasing the access of disadvantaged groups to quality social services.