GROUNDUP : Children are dying in pain because SA’s palliative care is so poor — report
The damning report from the World Health Organization confirms what professionals already know.
A damning report from the World Health Organization (WHO) reveals that South Africa's palliative care is inadequate, leading to children dying in pain. In a case from Ingwavuma, a remote part of KwaZulu-Natal, a one-month-old baby with congenital heart disease died screaming in agony because hospitals were unwilling to administer morphine.
Social worker Taryn Bell, who runs two children's hospices, recounts instances where doctors refuse to give morphine and medical managers agree with them. The Department of Health employs only one specialist in paediatric palliative care, Dr. Julia Ambler, who has seen a change in attitude but still faces doctors' fears of giving morphine the wrong dose.
Access to morphine and drugs for nerve pain is also problematic due to supply issues and cost. Other methods to alleviate a child's pain, such as massage and distraction strategies, are not widely available, even in city hospitals. Ambler emphasizes the need for better end-of-life care for children with neurodiversity, as hospitals often cause trauma by subjecting them to strict routines and unfamiliar settings.
The underlying problem, according to Joan Marston, a professional nurse and midwife, is poverty, which prevents families from accessing necessary medications and treatments in their local clinics.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
