Scotsgov palliative care strategy
Learning lessons from 'the COVID pandemic'?
Introduction
When is palliative care delivered?
What is defined as a ‘‘serious illness’’?
I would class the following as satisfying the above criteria as a ‘serious illness.’ Many other conditions could be added, which is concerning.
MS
ME/CFS
CANCER
MND
DEMENTIA
ALZHEIMERS
SEVERE DEPRESSION
ANOREXIA?
‘LONG COVID’?
I know of one example, a local with cancer, he was told by medics, 6 months to live ..yet he lasted 10 years (still able to go on holiday) and did NOT actually die from the cancer. How many people like this would decide to give up all hope and die much sooner when placed on an accelerated palliative care pathway ultimately towards assisted dying?
Projections to 2040
‘‘An estimated 56,416 people died with a palliative care need in Scotland in 2021. This accounted for 89% of all deaths in 2021. By 2040, the number of people dying with palliative care needs is projected to rise to an estimated 63,353 which is 90% of forecasted deaths and a 12% increase from 2021. The greatest increase is expected in people aged 85 or over who are projected to account for 42% of those dying with palliative care needs. (26,913 of a total of 63,353 such deaths).’’
Sickest Scottish population ever!
In 2021, heart disease accounted for the highest total number of palliative care deaths and is projected to rise from 26,957 to 34,443 by 2040 (a 28% increase).
• Dementia as a cause of death is projected to rise sharply from 12,658 in 2021 to 22,423 by 2040 (a 77% increase).
• Other types of organ failure illnesses accounted for a smaller proportion of deaths in 2021 but by 2040 these numbers are projected to increase, particularly for reno-vascular disease (136%) and lung diseases (33%).
Children
‘‘The number of children living with a life-shortening condition has increased over time. Complete prevalence has risen from 92 children per 10,000 in 2009/10 to 130 in 2018/19. This equates to 16,742 children across Scotland in 2018/19.’’ (CHAS)
‘Improved’ palliative care will reduce pressure on the NHS
‘‘Hospitals will continue to be a place where people die and there is a need to ensure that there is quality of care around dying, and for this to be monitored as a key service outcome in every hospital. Improved palliative care in the community, future care planning and timely urgent palliative care can reduce the need for hospital attendances, but people admitted for treatment of serious or life-threatening illnesses may die during that admission or be in a specialist unit when their health deteriorates, and it becomes clear they are dying.’’
The eFrailty Index identifier
This video is a must watch. Are we all just a number?
‘‘Frailty is progressive and as expected their is an increase in service use as people become more frail to an estimated cost of £2.5 BILLION per year.’’
‘‘Frailty has a big impact on the demand of services.’’
source:Healthcare Improvement Scotland-Vimeo
Which frailty category are you or someone you know?
I know many otherwise healthy people that would fit the definition of category 4 ‘vulnerable.’
Conclusions
I think it’s fair to say lessons are being learned post ‘COVID’ and to save money and free up space within the overloaded NHS vulnerable and frail people will be identified earlier and therefore be able to end end their life sooner.
Also bare in mind, as the palliative care guidelines are being updated, the assisted dying in Scotland bill is being proposed (introduced 27 March 2024 and is at Stage 1) supported by all political parties.
But that’s not all. Surveying what is going on in Scotland 2024 you notice the following.
New palliative care policies (proposed) making it easier to be identified
Assisted dying bill (in the works) allowing for more deaths to take place
Abortion buffer zones (recent new law)- no protesting the deaths of the unborn
Post ‘COVID’ it’s now been made easier by ministers for women to have abortions at home which has resulted in record abortion rates
Birth and fertility rates lowest on record
Teengage pregnancies lowest on record
The ONLY conclusion from these policies is to accelerate depopulation with anti-life net zero C02 goals to 2050 and cutting pensioners winter fuel payments also playing a role. Depopulation is no conspiracy theory, this is a reality.
NB: The call for views on the new palliative care strategy closes on 10 January 2025.
Thanks for reading.
End
Links:
Full document- https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2024/10/palliative-care-strategy-palliative-care-matters/documents/palliative-care-matters-working-together-improve-life-health-care-people-ages-living-serious-illnesses-health-conditions-dying-scotland-2025-2030/palliative-care-matters-working-together-improve-life-health-care-people-ages-living-serious-illnesses-health-conditions-dying-scotland-2025-2030/govscot%3Adocument/palliative-care-matters-working-together-improve-life-health-care-people-ages-living-serious-illnesses-health-conditions-dying-scotland-2025-2030.pdf
Population Data and Research- https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/research-and-analysis/2024/10/palliative-care-strategy-population-data-research-additional-paper/documents/palliative-care-strategy-population-data-research-additional-paper/palliative-care-strategy-population-data-research-additional-paper/govscot%3Adocument/palliative-care-strategy-population-data-research-additional-paper.pdf
https://healthandcare.scot/stories/3955/palliative-care-strategy-scotland
https://chas-assets.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/sites/59dde5b10f7d33796f8cd11b/assets/5f5b87aa0f7d337f7f7636e7/ChiSP3-Report.pdf
https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/health-social-care-and-sport-committee/correspondence/2024/sg-position-on-ad-bill.pdf
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c98y1ryd6d3o
https://news.stv.tv/scotland/maree-todd-confirms-at-home-abortions-can-continue-to-be-accessed-in-scotland
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ckvgwzvk790o
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/files//statistics/vital-events-ref-tables/2021/vital-events-ref-tables-21-publication.pdf
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-65766795
https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/teenage-pregnancies/teenage-pregnancies-year-of-conception-ending-31-december-2020/
https://scotland.shinyapps.io/nrs-population-projection-variants-scotland-uk/?_ga=2.176091495.477212690.1641825087-1918668566.1637071017
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/palliative-care
There clearly is an agenda going on in the western nations. I think you are absolutely right in that identifying vulnerabilities and frailties earlier and being put on their "palliative care pathway" they will free up space. It used to be that palliative care was a means to control the symptoms of chronic illness so that quality of life was improved, it was not a pathway to their death. All of their emphasis is on dying not living, it does not matter if you are old or young what matters is if you use up resources because of chronic disease, then your medical records may be marked for their "special pathway".
Australia has advertising on the radio for palliative care. It’s big business. I want to draw your attention to the use of oxygen for palliative care.
Oxygen is a powerful dehydrator and this is why it is a prescribed drug. It can kill. Oxygen is a known dehydrator- in anaesthesia and mechanic ventilators a humidifier is used concurrently to help mitigate this. But for palliative care they hook these people up 24/7 to portable bottles. Oxygen causes suffering and it makes these people wish for their own death as they dry up from the inside out.
I’ve an article: We breathe air not oxygen and I logically dismiss the gaseous exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide as a FRAUD. We are not machines using gases of combustion and exhaust. Hydration not oxygenation underpins our physiology. Hydration equals SALT plus water.
And How does salt restriction lead to heart dis-ease and fear based reactionary thinking? I link dehydration with the adrenals and explain how the restriction of salt creates chronic dis-eases like T2 and dementia.
Click on my blue icon to read.