The following excerpt is from a piece written by Adri Nieuwhof and Willem Scholten published in the EAPC blog. The link to the blog and the full piece is below.
Denial of pain treatment as an example of abusive practices in healthcare settings
A new United Nations report addresses the denial of pain treatment as an example of abusive practices in healthcare settings.
Until now, the denial of healthcare has mainly been understood as an infringement on the “right to health”. Now this situation can be considered from a different perspective. In general, denial of pain treatment follows from neglect and poor government policies. Purely negligent conduct may constitute ill-treatment if it leads to severe pain and suffering. However, it becomes cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment when a person severely suffers from pain while the State is, or can be, aware of the suffering and the government failed to take steps to protect the person’s physical and mental integrity. It is torture when the state is involved and there is specific intent.
Governments need to take steps to overcome the obstacles to adequate pain treatment, including overly restrictive drug control regulations and misinterpretation of regulations in drug supply management; inadequate infrastructure; lack of prioritization of palliative care; ingrained prejudices about using opioids for medical purposes; and the absence of pain management policies or guidelines for practitioners.
Furthermore, the obligation to prevent torture not only applies to States and their public officials, such as law enforcement agents. It extends to doctors, healthcare professionals and social workers, also those who work in private hospitals, other institutions and detention centers. Moreover, States must investigate, prosecute and redress abusive practices in healthcare settings that meet the criteria of torture.
2nd International Multidisciplinary Forum on Palliative Care
The 2nd International Multidisciplinary Forum on Palliative Care will be held on October 3-6, 2013 in Sofia, Bulgaria.
The upcoming conference is targeted at all medical professions from all fields of medicine. The three day conference will focus on innovative educational sessions in palliative care for non palliative care specialists. The program will include presentations, interactive workshops, and present research at various levels of development
More information available at here.
Paragon Conventions
Tel: +41 22 5330 948, Fax: +41 22 5802 953
mailto: [email protected]
Cultures of grief: bereavement in young people
The conference Cultures of Grief: Bereavement in Young People will be held on May 2, 2013 in London, United Kingdom. Join us for the Childhood Bereavement Network ™'s 2013 conference to hear key speakers and discuss with colleagues how culture and grief interact in the lives of children and families, and what this means for the services supporting them: how can we best support grieving children across different cultural backgrounds? How is bereavement tackled in cultural forms?
This conference is suitable for all those working directly and indirectly with bereaved children, young people and their families in a variety of settings.
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