“Health professionals can refer in a timely manner and demand more answers in terms of palliative care, but society in general should also get used to claim more their rights in this area”, stresses the physician Isabel Neto in a special documentary by SIC, broadcasted during the news programme “Jornal da Noite” on June 20, about the country’s shortcomings in such specialized cares. “Most patients in palliative care are not dying or unconscious. Palliative care is not solely destined to the end of life, but for any prognosis, that could be of years, and to help to live better”, explains the director of the Unit of Continuing and Palliative Care from Hospital da Luz Lisboa, which is considered “a service of reference at national level”. In the documentary “Estamos vivos” (We are alive) – where the majority of the images was captured before the covid-19 pandemic – the advantages of palliative care are explained and how some of the private and public and social sector institutions operate in the area, with specialized multidisciplinary teams. The starting point is the harsh reality revealed in the latest studies: it is estimated that 100 thousand Portuguese require palliative care, but around 70% cannot have access, the lack of human resources with adequate training being the biggest issue, undermining the assistance, physical and psychological quality provided to people with incurable and progressive diseases. In the area of Paediatrics, the problem is even worse: there will be around 8 thousand children with needs of palliative care, but only 1% get access to it. SIC documentary, “Estamos vivos”
