Baby Skaria, George Manjit, Menon Girijanandan D
Department of Anaesthesiology, M.O.S.C. Medical College, Ernakulam, Kerala, India.
Indian J Palliat Care. 2022 Jan-Mar;28(1):113-114. doi: 10.25259/IJPC_72_21. Epub 2022 Jan 29.
Palliative care for patients with chronic non-malignant diseases is a less addressed area. In-hospital care, particularly, critical care of elderly population with advanced organ failure, can lead to poor resource management. ICU beds come under the strained resource category, more so in the backdrop of the recent COVID-19 pandemic. Home-based palliative care ensures better comfort to the patient and their kin, at the same time facilitating better resource utilisation. This approach may also reduce the mental trauma caused by the loss of a dear one. Major hurdles in providing palliative care for the chronically ill are lack of awareness and financial constraints. The need of the hour is enhanced awareness and promotion of the practice of palliative care. A favourable change in government policy and budget allocation will go a long way in achieving this goal. Home-based palliative care paves the way to care for the subset of patients with end-stage organ failure in a more humane manner.
慢性非恶性疾病患者的姑息治疗是一个较少受到关注的领域。住院治疗，尤其是对患有晚期器官衰竭的老年人群的重症监护，可能导致资源管理不善。重症监护病房床位属于资源紧张的类别，在最近的新冠疫情背景下更是如此。居家姑息治疗能确保患者及其亲属获得更好的舒适度，同时促进资源的更好利用。这种方法还可以减少因失去亲人而造成的精神创伤。为慢性病患者提供姑息治疗的主要障碍是缺乏认识和资金限制。当务之急是提高对姑息治疗的认识并推广其实践。政府政策和预算分配的有利变化将对实现这一目标大有帮助。居家姑息治疗为以更人道的方式照顾终末期器官衰竭患者子集铺平了道路。
