"If palliative care becomes routine, the spiritual and family approach can be lost." So said at the University of Navarra David Clark, professor and researcher of the University of Glasglow (United Kingdom). The expert gave a talk at lecture 'Cicely Saunders: the Life, the Work, the Legacy', organized by the ATLANTES program program of Institute for Culture and Society (ICS) program, led by Dr. Carlos Centeno.

According to the British specialist, palliative care is one of the most important health-related issues of the 21st century, as medical advances have increased life expectancy and more people are living with illness and its symptoms for longer periods of time. 

"There is a need to train professionals to solve the disproportion between the demand of patients who need palliative care and the issue of healthcare workers prepared to attend them," he stressed at the ICS. 

The importance of intangible aspects

In his address, Dr. Clark emphasized the relevance of the "intangible aspects" of palliative care, which "must be understood and researched." To illustrate this idea, he reviewed the life and work of Cicely Saunders, one of the founders of the modern palliative care movement, who established the first specialized unit in this field, St. Christopher's Hospice. "This center," she noted, "was very influential because it differed from others of that time in that, in addition to caring for the sick, it also organized educational and research programs.

 Continuing on the path started by this pioneer, David Clark explained that next year he will be conducting a research with his team at the University of Glasglow to study alternative approaches to making end-of-life care more sustainable.