A special ceremony at the County Palace marked ten years of the development of organised palliative care in primary healthcare. From humble beginnings with one mobile palliative team, a coordinator and a medical equipment lender, a system has been developed that today enables patients to receive professional help and support in their own homes.
The palliative care department of the Varaždin County Health Centre today comprises two mobile palliative teams, the Palliative Care Coordination Centre and the Medical Equipment Lender. Palliative care is provided daily by the mobile teams and coordinators, as well as by district nursing staff and family medicine teams, while hospital teams, social services and other departments are involved as needed by patients.
The Director of the Varaždin County Health Centre, Assoc. Prof. Dr. Jurica Veronek, recalled that palliative care began ten years ago with one coordinator, a medical equipment lender and one mobile palliative team. The development of palliative care over the years has been accompanied by continuous investment in people, equipment, premises and vehicles, it was noted at the commemoration.
The palliative care department today consists of two mobile palliative teams with permanent specialist doctors, two palliative care coordinators, and recently they have also had occasional support from a psychologist. A further goal is to strengthen the team by making the psychologist a permanent member.
In the past ten years, more than 2,800 patients have been included in the palliative care system. Mobile palliative teams have made more than 5,300 home visits, and more than 700 medical devices have been lent to patients. The teams have covered more than 160,000 kilometres on the road to patients and their families. In addition to home visits, numerous telephone consultations and contacts with patients and their family members have been established.
County Prefect Anđelko Stričak emphasised that palliative care is not only a matter of health service, but also of attitude towards the person, their family and dignity in the most difficult period of life. He announced the continued integration of health and social resources, as well as the further expansion of palliative care capacities, and activities aimed at establishing a National Centre for Palliative Care.
The President of the Varaždin County Assembly, Krunoslav Lukačić, highlighted the importance of further investment in field care. The Varaždin County Health Centre was among the first to develop a programme for strengthening mental health, in which six psychologists work, it operates two mobile family medicine ambulances, and a special programme for early childhood intervention has been launched. Varaždin County has been developing palliative care for ten years.
