Palliative care is a specialized care designed for anyone facing severe and progressive disease, regardless of age and prognostic, with the purpose of intervening and alleviating physical and psychological suffering. The World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, on October 12, aims to raise the public awareness and Hospital da Luz joins this cause, also expressing its appreciation to all health professionals and caregivers who commit themselves daily to offer their patients a life with dignity, comfort and humanity . In 2024, ten years have passed since the World Health Organization’s resolution alerting the member nations to the need of improving access to such care, challenging them to “establish Palliative Care as an undeniable component of a life-long comprehensive healthcare”. Ten years after, we are called upon to reflect on all that still needs to be done to make palliative care accessible to everyone : It is estimated that over 60 million people around the world, of all ages and with different pathologies, require palliative care every year. With the ageing population and the increase of chronic disease, that number is expected to rise; In Portugal, it is known that 70% of people with palliative needs – and they are tens of thousands – still have no access to such care; The latest report by the Portuguese Palliative Care Observatory, dating from 2023, on the coverage and characterization of palliative care teams, points out “significant shortage” and serious “asymmetry on regional level”, concluding that it is “below acceptable and recommended” according to the national and international guidelines. Meaning that there are thousand of Portuguese with no access to such healthcare that could give them quality of life and dignity. Remember : Palliative care is a rigorous response of modern medicine to the different causes of human suffering related with severe disease, oncological or not, and regardless of the estimated prognosis, and which may go from weeks to months. As urged by WHO, it is imperative to consider the proven benefits of palliative care and “make the voice of all those in need heard by decision makers” .
