Palliative care advances allow patients to die at home

(JB) People with terminal illnesses can now die in their own homes after a third of Luxembourg GPs received the necessary palliative care training.

The courses were funded by the Luxembourg ministry of health after a study in Belgium found that nine out of every 10 people with terminal illnesses, preferred to spend their remaining days in their own home.

The two-year course was attended by 111 Luxembourg-based GPs and was aimed at making medical practitioners aware of the types of palliative care available for people with terminal illnesses.

Health minister Mars di Bartolomeo was keen to point out the course was not aimed at promoting euthanasia: “This type of care is aimed at providing pain relief for victims of terminal illnesses. It is not intended as a means of staving off or accelerating the death of the patient.”

In 2008, only 22% of people with terminal illnesses died in their own homes, compared with 60% of patients in hospital.