Background:
Comprehensive cancer control programmes should include palliative care. Health authorities have to pay attention and make investments in not only for expensive chemotherapeutics and radiotherapy systems but also for palliative care systems for a better cancer control.
Aim:
In this study we aimed to evaluate the progress in home care services in Turkey within last 4 years.
Methods:
Demographic data of the 1.182.686 patients who received home care services between 2010-2014 was retrieved from Ministry of Health National Registry Database who have used home care services. The numbers have been validated also individually from specific hospitals.
Results:
In 2010 there were 407 home care teams and the number of patients who were receiving these services were 16.651. After this pilot study, the numbers of patients has raised to 124.085, 244.961, 380.814 and the number of the home care teams has raised to 642, 715, 765 during the years 2011,2012,2013 respectively. There were no palliative care centers in 2008 but in the end of 2013 the number has raised to 18 across Turkey.
Table-1: Development of Turkish home care services
|
Home Care Services |
2010 |
2011 |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
|
Patients |
16.651 |
124.085 |
244.961 |
380.814 |
416.175 |
|
Teams |
407 |
642 |
715 |
765 |
834 |
|
Employees |
478 |
3512 |
4143 |
4224 |
4369 |
Awareness of the patients and health personnel by means of palliative care has also increased and this can be seen from the data ofmorphine equivalent consumption which has reached 600 S-DDD per million inhabitant per day in 2007 which is 5,4 times more than the consumption rate seen in 1997.
Conclusions:
Palliative care is an easily acceptable and implementable health care system. Despite to many years in which palliative care was ignored in this experience we had shown that this is highly acceptable by patients and health politicians.