It is at the Le Fogata cinema that the CPTS* of Balagne, in partnership with the National Union of Approved Associations of Users of the Health System (France assos santé), wished to address end of life.
The place first made it possible to broadcast a documentary, retracing the journey of people at the end of their lives and their families, then to offer a space for debate between associative and medical actors and specialists on the issue invited for the occasion.
“It was important for us to focus on end-of-life care, here with the Balanin actors, explains the general practitioner and president of the CPTS of Balagne, Dominique Simeoni. Through this meeting, we wish to convey the message that an end-of-life journey is a coordinated journey, with numerous stakeholders, private doctors, hospitals, etc. and that all of this helps to reassure families.”
The choice to organize this meeting now is to give as many keys as possible to the public concerned before the resumption of discussions on the new bill.
“The debate was amended and enriched by the government, but also by several associations, actors and specialists in this field, explains the regional coordinator of France assos santé, Christelle Felix. The project will address two themes: palliative care and active assistance in dying. The objective of these meetings is to present what is already being done and the legal arsenal already available, without necessarily addressing these future new laws. Patients, caregivers and families often do not know what current law allows them to do. The goal is to shed light on what already exists before asking for new things.”
Help the patient manage illness, symptoms and pain
When we talk about the debate on the end of life, it is often active assistance in dying which monopolizes the debate. A new regulation which catalyzes expectations and fears but which is only part of the end of life.
During this debate, it was rather a question palliative care.
A part of medicine which consists of helping the patient to live their last moments of life as best as possible and to achieve certain things before leaving.
“Palliative care is aimed at people suffering from serious, progressive pathologies who, in the more or less short term, have a prognosis, argues the doctor Daniel Nicolaspalliative care practitioner at the Aiacciu hospital and the Paca-Corse ethics committee. This prognosis can be medium or even long term, and some people will live in palliative care for several months or even years. The end of life is the final part of this care. So the philosophy behind this is knowing what to do with your life when you know that the deadline is coming, when you are 30, 40 or 50 years old, and you are not programmed to see his life ends at that age. It's setting up projects, with things that we still want or need to do. Some will want to reunite with family members, or take a trip… This is when we must help the patient manage the illness, the symptoms and especially the pain. We must also encourage him and his family to realize that at that moment, the important thing is no longer to go to the continent to have scans but to refocus on the essentials. The palliative approach is make sense of these last moments and, for that, you need a team around the patient.”
No palliative care unit in Balagne
In Balagne, for the moment, there is no palliative care unit, which is also why the conference made sense here in Balagne. “There is no structure but that does not mean that there is no palliative care, adds Dominique Simeoni. With this evening, we wanted to show what is being done and what could be done. There are no plans to open a dedicated unit for this but the hospital has requested that beds dedicated to palliative care be created. This creation would provide funding to train staff even better.”
The file is in progress and, in the meantime, staff are working on the well-being of patients and their families. In Balagne, they can rely on associations and volunteers which bring additional human contact.
“When I accompany sick patients, I sometimes unfortunately accompany them until death, says the president of the Balagne section of the League Against Cancer, Jeannine Maraninchi. It's always a difficult time but thanks to the work of the medical teams, we can help them get through this last moment peacefully.”
After organizing this meeting between actors from the medical world, the CPTS will organize in January another meeting open to the public.
* CPTS: territorial professional health community.
