Health Minister Alexandru Rafila on Thursday emphasised the need to set up palliation departments and include palliative care among home hospice care services as the two completes one another.
"Truth is hospice care facilities do not have to be set up in public hospitals. (...) Some are established by churches, others by local administrations. We have two duties - first of all not to put administrative burdens on those who develop such projects, and secondly to include palliative care among home hospice care services as the two completes one another in Romania's healthcare strategy," Rafila said on Thursday at a news conference organised by Casa Speranta Hospice, according to agerpres.ro.
He said that the inclusion of palliative care in the draft health strategy of the country implies that the allocation of resources and investment in the field of healthcare should not be limited to well-known services. He added that palliation is "a matter of community responsibility."
He said that several hospitals are awaiting approval from the Ministry of Health for palliative care beds.