Government unveils National Palliative Care Policy

Brazil’s National Health Council has approved the creation of the National Palliative Care Policy—PNCP in the original Portuguese acronym—in the country’s public health system, SUS.

Defined by the World Health Organization as a “human right and moral imperative of all health systems,” palliative care is the set of essential services that “improve the lives of patients and their families who face the challenges associated with life-threatening illness and serious health-related suffering including, but not limited to, end-of-life care.”

With the move, the government hopes to bring services in line with international guidelines, which recommend providing one home care team and one hospital care team for every 100 thousand people.

According to the Ministry of Health, in order to implement the structure, BRL 851 million will be invested in a number of efforts every year, including the training 1,300 teams for the prevention and alleviation of patient suffering.

Data released by the WHO in 2021 show that an estimated 56.8 million people—including 25.7 million in the last year of life—need palliative care worldwide, with 78 percent of them in low- and middle-income countries.

The lack of an accreditation system for services already offered, such as specialized teams in general hospitals and cancer treatment centers and home care programs, results in an undercount, the ministry reported. This should also be addressed through the new policy.

“With accreditation in place, we will be able to have a more accurate picture of what SUS has to offer in this connection and ensure that more patients who need care have adequate and efficient access to it,” the statement reads.