New global figures reveal millions of elderly missing out on end of life care

New estimates from the WHO, released today ahead of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (13 October), show that around 24 million adults require palliative care at the end of life each year. 66% of these are over 60 years old.

For most cancer patients with advanced life-limiting illness, the prelude to death from cancer is a period of functional decline associated with progressive symptoms and an increasing burden of care.

Millions of people at the end of life, particularly those over 60, are missing out on vital care and support because of a lack of access to palliative care services. Despite this growing need, 42% of countries still have no identified hospice and palliative care service, while 80% of people globally lack adequate access to medication for treatment of moderate to severe pain. This means millions of older people, especially in the developing world, are living and dying in unnecessary pain and distress.

To ensure all older people with life-limiting conditions are cared for with dignity and according to their wishes, the World Palliative Care Association is today calling for palliative care to be integrated into national and community health systems around the world. 

Governments also failing to address “global pandemic of untreated cancer pain”

These new figures follow the recent launch of the results of a landmark global survey on access to pain-relieving drugs.   The survey results, released to the public during the European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) 2012 Congress in Vienna on 29 September, paint a shocking picture of unnecessary pain on a global scale.  

The International Collaborative Project to Evaluate the Availability and Accessibility of Opioids for the Management of Cancer Pain was initiated by ESMO and coordinated with several other international oncology and palliative care organisations, as well as the WHO and Union for International Cancer Control (UICC). 

The researchers found that very few countries provided all seven of the opioid medications that are considered to be essential for the relief of cancer pain by the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care. In many countries, fewer than three of the seven medications are available. In many of the countries, those medications that are available are either unsubsidised or weakly subsidised by government, and availability is often limited. Furthermore, many countries have highly restrictive regulations that limit entitlement of cancer patients to receive prescriptions, limit prescriber privileges, impose restrictive limits on duration of prescription, restrict dispensing, and increase bureaucratic burden of the prescribing and dispensing process.

There is an urgent need to examine drug control policies and repeal excessive restrictions which impede this most fundamental aspect of cancer care, the researchers said. The issues were particularly severe in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and Latin and Central America.

This World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2012 thousands of people in around 60 countries are coming together at more than 1,000 events to celebrate, support and speak up about hospice and palliative care.

To find out more about World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2012 visit www.worldday.org 

To find out more about UICC’s Global Access to Pain Relief Initiative visit the GAPRI Programme pages.