Palliative Care Forum alleviates patients’ suffering
JEDDAH – Patients are in urgent need of moral and psychological
support. This was the main theme of the first international
evidence-based palliative care awareness symposium which opened at the
InterContinental Hotel here on Monday.
The
three-day forum has been organized under the patronage of Dr. Bandar
Al-Qanawi, the Executive General Manager for Health Affairs at the
National Guard, and Director of King Saud Bin Abdul Aziz University for
Scientific Health.
A number of international and local experts and
consultants attended the forum, which aimed to highlight the importance
of alleviating the suffering of patients and ensuring that they are
treated humanely and with dignity during all the stages of their
disease.
Dr. Amani Babaqi, a coordinator for
palliative care, said that the forum also aimed to increase the
awareness of medical students, nurses, patients and their families of
the importance of emphasizing the quality of life in medical care. “It
is important that this forum encourages national cadres to concentrate
on scientific research in decreasing the suffering of patients in the
Kingdom,” said Dr. Babaqi.
She added that there are
many nurses from Southeast Asia in the hospital who have experience in
dealing with patients, but who still need to learn about palliative care
by taking part in training courses.
She also noted that there are plans
under way to make palliative care an essential part of the health
service program.
According to Dr. Mohammad
Al-Shehri, a palliative care consultant at King Faisal Specialist
Hospital and Research Center, palliative care is a comprehensive care
system that includes physical, psychological, spiritual and social care
for those suffering from chronic diseases such as cancer, as well as
respiratory, cardiovascular and neurological diseases.
– SG
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