Murray Eugene
Irish Hospice Foundation, Dublin, Ireland.
J Pain Symptom Manage. 2009 Jul;38(1):97-104. doi: 10.1016/j.jpainsymman.2009.04.017.
Approximately 30,000 people die in Ireland each year. Currently over 6000 people access specialist palliative care services annually, a figure that is projected to rise to 12,500 by 2016. In 2006, the Irish Hospice Foundation entered a joint advocacy alliance with the Irish Cancer Society and the Irish Association for Palliative Care. By speaking with one voice and using quality data, these three national voluntary groups were able to influence government and social partners to address clearly identified regional inequities in the provision of palliative care services. Over the past three years, there has been significant public investment in palliative care services, culminating in the recent publication by the national health agency of a five-year plan for a comprehensive national palliative care service. However, the sudden economic downturn in 2008 and the severe deterioration of public finances threaten the implementation of the plan. New services can only be developed if there is strong evidence to illustrate that they are cost-effective in delivering patient care. Having reviewed the international evidence, the joint advocacy group has used this economic evidence to strengthen the case that the development of palliative care services can actually save money in health budgets. The campaign mounted by the joint advocacy group was greatly facilitated by the existence of good data and an agreed evidence-based policy on what constitutes a comprehensive service.
爱尔兰每年约有3万人死亡。目前，每年有超过6000人接受专科姑息治疗服务，预计到2016年这一数字将增至12500人。2006年，爱尔兰临终关怀基金会与爱尔兰癌症协会及爱尔兰姑息治疗协会结成联合宣传联盟。通过统一发声并运用高质量数据，这三个全国性志愿组织得以影响政府及社会伙伴，以解决在提供姑息治疗服务方面明确存在的地区不平等问题。在过去三年里，对姑息治疗服务有大量公共投资，最终促成国家卫生机构最近发布了一项全面的国家姑息治疗服务五年计划。然而，2008年突如其来的经济衰退以及公共财政的严重恶化威胁到该计划的实施。只有在有充分证据表明新服务在提供患者护理方面具有成本效益时，才能开发新服务。联合宣传小组在审视了国际证据后，利用这一经济证据来强化这样一个观点，即姑息治疗服务的发展实际上可以节省卫生预算。联合宣传小组开展的运动因存在良好数据以及就何为全面服务达成的基于证据的政策而得到极大推动。
