Number of PC services PHOTO: Courtesy

Palliative care services in Spain have grown from 250 in 2006 to almost 400 today. This is highlighted by the new Atlas of Palliative Care in Europe, prepared by a group of European researchers, led by Professors Carlos Centeno, of the University of Navarra, and David Clark, of the University of Glasgow. The publication will be presented tomorrow, Thursday, May 30, in Prague at framework of the World Palliative Carecongress .

The study points out that after the publication of the Ministerial Document with the National Palliative Care Strategy in 2007, many autonomous communities implemented a regional plan (Madrid, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, Balearic Islands, Murcia, Aragon and Andalusia). According to Professor Centeno, director of the department of Palliative Medicine of the Clinic of the University of Navarra, "in spite of reaching important figures (8 programs per million inhabitants) in Spain we are still far from reaching levels of development comparable to those of neighboring countries".

The Atlas, promoted by the association European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC), provides an overview of services, policies and strategies to improve end-of-life care in 53 European countries. The research concludes that the highest concentration of palliative care services is in Ireland and Belgium, with almost 18-20 services per million inhabitants. In a second group are, for example, the United Kingdom, Sweden, the Netherlands and Austria, with 12-16 services per million. Spain would be in the third block of countries, with 8 services per million.

teaching and legislation
On the other hand, in Spain, as in the rest of Europe, the University is opening up to the teaching of Palliative Medicine and half of the Schools have started courses for future doctors. Specifically, there are thirteen countries where it is taught in 100% of the Schools of Medicine.

training However, although the indicators of "vitality" of palliative care in Spain are high and comparable to the rest of the world in terms of scientific meetings, publications, activity of professional associations, etc., there are no plans to create a specific area (subspecialization program) for palliative care. In Europe the trend in this direction is clear and most Western European countries have already C it (e.g. UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Norway and up to 14 countries in total).

Likewise, the ATLAS sample a tendency in Europe to approve national palliative care laws that ensure equity and quality in the provision of these services. According to agreement with Professor Centeno, "in Spain legislation has been passed at the regional level (Andalusia, Aragon and Navarra) and establishing generic laws on the rights of patients in the end-of-life process; they are not specific palliative laws".

Professor David Clark, director of Campus Dumfries and director of the School of Interdisciplinary programs of study at the University of Glasgow, stresses that"as Europe's population ages, there is a growing interest in palliative care and how individuals receive financial aid at the end of life. This Atlas provides a tool core topic to drive policy and best practice across Europe and to assist the strategic development of new services."

The department of Geography of the University of Navarra, led by Professor Juan José Pons, has been in charge of carrying out a cartographic presentation of the results, which is available through the network and in applications for mobile devices.

Notes
Two editions of the ATLAS of PALLIATIVE CARE IN EUROPE are available, a cartographic edition and a complete edition. They can be found at download . http://www.unav.es/centro/cultura-y-sociedad/

The new Atlas is also freely available available in an electronic application called "ICS-ATLANTES", on the Apple-store and Google-play electronic device platforms.

For more information on the European Society for Palliative Care congress : http://www.eapc-2013.org

For further information, please contact Isabel Teixeira, isabeltmota@unav.es.