The Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan has developed a procedure for providing palliative care. The draft resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers on its approval was submitted for public discussion.
As the background statement says, the country currently lacks a unified legal framework regulating the provision of palliative care. This creates a legal vacuum and leads to uneven provision of services across the country. This is especially relevant for remote and rural areas, where access to specialized care is significantly limited.
The draft document was developed to regulate the procedure of providing palliative care to adults and children to ensure the maximum quality of life for patients with incurable diseases and alleviate their suffering by providing specialized medical care, psychological and social support.
«The problem of providing palliative care is becoming increasingly important in the context of a growing number of patients with chronic, incurable diseases, especially in the older age group. In the context of modern medical development, significant progress has been made in the treatment of many diseases, but there is a large category of patients for whom a complete cure is impossible. This includes people with late-stage cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, severe cardiovascular and other chronic pathologies,» the document says.
In recent decades, there has been a trend towards aging of the population, which also entails an increase in the number of patients in need of palliative care.
The existing healthcare system is not always ready to fully meet the needs of such patients. This is reflected in the insufficient number of specialized institutions, limited access to the necessary medical and social services, and insufficient training of medical personnel providing palliative care.
«Psychological and emotional support is also important not only for patients, but also for their families, who face a heavy moral and physical burden. Often, families find themselves alone in the face of difficult trials associated with caring for terminally ill relatives, which leads to significant stress and deterioration of their own health,» the ministry added.
