Britain has the best palliative care in Europe, a conference has been told.
Experts at the event in Vienna, Austria, resources in Britain for care of the terminally ill outstrip all other countries in Europe.
A European league table was revealed at the European Association of Palliative Care.
According to the analysis, Britain is followed by Ireland, Sweden and the Netherlands.
Bottom of the table were countries such as Estonia, Slovakia and Portugal.
EAPC president Professor Lukas Radbruch, from the RWTH University in Aachen, said: “Whereas some countries are introducing full coverage of palliative care services, in less developed countries there are just a few pioneers active and patients are left to manage alone with their hopes of finding relief from suffering at the end of life.
“The possibility to die with dignity should not depend on the country in which a person lives.”
* The conference also heard a report demonstrating that out-patient teams for care of the dying could be cost-effective. The findings came from research in Britain and Austria.
Researcher Dr Walter Schippinger, of Graz Medical University, Austria, said: “The results of our study demonstrate that palliative care by outpatient support teams in the last two months of a cancer patient’s life covers its own costs, since expenditures for hospital stays are not incurred.”
Meanwhile a senior Italian specialist warned against legalising euthanasia, claiming it would lead to “pressure” on vulnerable patients.
EAPC honorary director Professor Dr Franco de Conno, from Milan, said: “We have to keep in mind that requests for euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide are often altered by the provision of sufficient and comprehensive palliative care. Individuals requesting euthanasia or physician-assisted suicide should therefore have access to palliative care expertise.
“If euthanasia is legalised in any society, then the potential exists for pressure on vulnerable persons, the underdevelopment or devaluation of palliative care structures and conflicts between legal requirements and the personal and professional values of physicians and other healthcare professionals.”
AbstractPS 18.3: E. Hatziandreou et al: Potential cost savings of greater use of home and hospice-based end of life care in England;
AbstractPE 1.F293:W. Schippingeret al, Economic effects of palliative care provided by a home care support team of an university hospital in Austria
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