Palliative Care — Sri Lanka Medical Association
What is palliative care?
Palliative care is the prevention and relief of suffering of any kind experienced by adults and children living with life-limiting illness. It promotes dignity, quality of life and adjustment to progressive illness, using the best available evidence. It offers a support system for patients to live as actively as possible until they die and gives support to family members during the patient’s illness and bereavement.
It includes advanced care planning — identifying priorities and goals for care at the end of life — using ethical principles and shared decision making.
- Multi-disciplinary team-based care (medical, nursing, allied health, social work, spiritual care)
- Symptom control and psychosocial support
- Advance care planning and shared decision-making
- Care and bereavement support for families
Sri Lanka — current efforts
It is admirable to find that there are some activities already set in Sri Lanka, and the Ministry of Health has initiated a steering committee for palliative care. These are important first steps toward creating an integrated network of services that reach patients both in hospitals and communities across the island.
The Sri Lanka Medical Association, as an apex professional organization among medical professionals, wishes to work hand in hand with the Palliative Care Steering Committee of Sri Lanka to face this challenge and to develop this new approach to patient care. Our aim is to develop palliative care services across the island that cater to the needs of both cancer and non-cancer patients.
