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Legal aspects of palliative care [Новость добавлена - 15.10.2009]

WHERE THE LAW FITS INTO PALLIATIVE CARE

The groundbreaking hospice legal manual - Legal Aspects of Palliative Care - was launched on 29 July 2009 at the Centre for the Book in Cape Town by the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa.
The legal and medical community in attendance gave the manual an overwhelmingly positive response. Guests were treated to a panel discussion with authors sharing what they learnt and what they aimed to achieve through the chapters they wrote, with the floor being opened at the end for questions from the audience.
The book is a world first which has opened a new chapter for both the legal and medical fields.
 
Legal issues can increase emotional stress in patients and families and impact the way they cope with life-threatening illness. Hospice workers often speak on behalf of this vulnerable group knowing that hospice patients face many problems, some of which require legal intervention.
The Legal Aspects of Palliative Care includes chapters co-authored by palliative care practitioners and legal / human rights advocates working collaboratively in pairs, now makes the key legal and medical issues accessible to clients, patients and families. Each chapter includes a terminology box, case studies, suggested solutions and notes on resources.
South African Constitutional Court Judge, Edwin Cameron wrote the foreward and describes the manual as, "a practical reference guide for use in palliative care services and legal practice" and says that the manual "contributes to developing palliative care to guide hospice personnel as well as lawyers".
 
PDF copies of the manual and individual chapters are also available on www.hospicepalliativecaresa.co.za/legal.html and CDs can be burnt on request.
Staff from HPCA and member hospices provide the palliative care input and legal writers from the following organisations provide the legal and human rights input to the manual:
• Centre for the Study of Aids, Pretoria University
• Children's Rights Centre
• Legal Resources Centre
• Rhodes University Legal Aid Clinic
• Street Law
• Experts in law and health at our funders, Open Society Institute and Open Society Foundation for SA
• Entire Book:
Legal Aspects of Palliative Care - 160 pages
• Chapters:
o Introduction - Contents, Forward, Acknowledgements, How to Use this manual
o Introduction to Palliative Care - Liz Gwyther and Jonathan Cohen
o Introduction to Human Rights and Palliative Care - Liz Gwyther, Jonathan Cohen & Tamar Ezer
o Ethical Issues - Nico Nortje, Liz Gwyther, Tamar Ezer, Anita Kleinschmidt
o NPO Sector - Elizabeth Scrimgeour, Charlene May
o Access to Care - Sarah Sephton, Zodwa Sithole
o Poverty, Financial Issues and Social Development - Sarah Sephton, Sue Nieuwmeyer
o Managing Debt in the context of illness - Jonathan Campbell
o The Rights of Children and Young People in Palliative Care - Cati Vadwa, Joan Marston
o Palliative Care for Older Persons - Kathleen Brodrick, Nelia Drenth
o Refugees and other potentially vulnerable groups - Duncan Breen, Liz Gwyther
o Community Caregivers - Sue Cameron, Lindi Coetzee, Nkosazana Ngidi
o Dying and the Law - Desia Colgan
o Death and Dying - Sue Nieuwmeyer
o Resources - List for SA (appendices to chapters) and Contributing Organisations
 
For more information please visit the website on www.hospicepalliativecaresa.co.za


Vol.V. No.9. http://x.amega.hu/archive.php?pid=11&id=210