Strasbourg 5 November 2004 RESTRICTED CDSP(2004) 59 ENGLISH Item

strasbourg, 5 november 2004 restricted cdsp(2004) 59 english item 2.2 european health committee (cdsp) 56th mee

Strasbourg, 5 November 2004 RESTRICTED
CDSP(2004) 59
ENGLISH
Item 2.2
EUROPEAN HEALTH COMMITTEE (CDSP)
56th Meeting
Strasbourg, 16-17 November 2004
__________________________
Dissemination of the Council of Europe Recommendation
on the organisation of palliative care.
Dissemination of Council of Europe Recommendations.
A powerful tool for information and lobbying!
The Council of Europe has received an unprecedented support in
disseminating the Council of Europe recommendation Rec (2003) 24”on
the organisation of palliative care”.
In a unique European project of international cooperation the
Recommendation is now accessible in 17 languages
Croatian, Dutch, English, French, Georgian, German, Greek, Hungarian,
Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Swedish,
Turkish and Ukrainian.
This means that more than 600 million Europeans, politicians,
professionals and general public are able to read the recommendation
in their own language.
The joint project with the European Association of Palliative Care had
its peak on Monday, October 11, 2004 with a jointly formulated press
release in all the participating countries. Activities such as media
campaigns, presentations of the recommendation, seminars and political
attendances took place during October. The Council of Europe
recommendation in all languages was printed in a booklet and it looked
the same in the different countries. The recommendation, supported by
the accompanying memorandum, defines a new standard in palliative care
provision across member states, leading towards one vision and one
voice on palliative care all over Europe.
In Hungary, Poland and Sweden press conferences with were held on
October 11. Media representatives were invited and many responded to
the calls. The activities have led to radio, TV and newspaper
interviews and reports. In Poland the deputy minister of health was
present at the press conference as well as a representative from the
Council of Europe who also attended. In Sweden the health minister has
also been personally informed about the Recommendations. There have
been palliative care conferences in Croatia and in Serbia in October
and the Recommendations have been in focus also there. In Switzerland
a national palliative care day was organised earlier, on November the
20th 2003, combined with the annual conference on cancer, organized by
both Swiss Society for PC and the Swiss Cancer League. During that
day, the recommendation has been presented and Mr. D. Willems, the
consultant of the expert committee, came as a speaker about this
theme. Most of the daily or weekly papers from the 3 different parts
of our country (French, German and Italian) were represented there and
many articles in many of them appeared the day or a few days after.
Another opportunity to present the recommendation will occur in
Aachen, Germany April 2005, where the next EAPC conference will take
place.
The model press released, used to issue national versions.
The recommendation of the Council of Europe expert committee on the
organisation of palliative care was formally adopted by the Committee
of Ministers on 12 November 2003 as the recommendation Rec (2003) 24
”on the organisation of palliative care”.
This document is the product of intense collaborative work involving a
range of participants from many countries. The final recommendation,
supported by the accompanying memorandum, defines a new standard in
palliative care provision across member states.
Specifically, member states have now agareed to adopt policies,
legislative and other measures necessary for a coherent and
comprehensive national policy framework for palliative care. The
report recognises that palliative care is a vital and integral part of
health services. Any person who needs palliative care should be able
to access such care without undue bureaucracy or delay, and in a
setting that is consistent with individual need and choice. The report
highlights the need for structured programmes of education, training
and research.
The decision to adopt this report is indicative of the commitment of
member states to develop palliative care services to the highest
possible standards. The success of this report will be judged on the
extent to which we develop and implement programmes of palliative
care, that are capable of reaching out and addressing the needs of
individual patients and families throughout the 46 member states.
When adopting the report, member states agreed to promote
international networking between palliative care agencies, and further
agreed to support an active, targeted dissemination of these
recommendations. In this regard, the EAPC-East coordination centre, in
collaboration with many national organisations, has decided to promote
the principles of the report in as many countries as possible in
October 2004. As Europeans, we can collectively make a difference by
promoting the Council of Europe report in our own countries, and by
working in partnership so that the vision may be realised. You and I
can change the world!