South Africa: Children Are Dying in Pain Because Our Palliative Care Is So Poor
[GroundUp] Damning report from World Health Organisation confirms what professionals already know
A damning audit from the World Health Organisation confirms that South Africa's public health system is failing to provide adequate palliative care for children with life-limiting illnesses. Social worker Taryn Bell recounted the tragic story of a one-month-old baby with congenital heart disease who screamed in pain because the hospital was unwilling to administer the prescribed morphine.
Bell and her husband, a doctor, run two children's hospices in remote parts of KwaZulu-Natal but struggle to obtain essential medications due to cost and supply issues. Experts blame a lack of understanding, fear, and limited resources for the inadequate care, with only one paediatric palliative care specialist employed by the Department of Health.
Families often face long distances and lack of resources to provide proper end-of-life care for their children, resorting to traditional healers when hospital care is unavailable or unaffordable.
Written by urgent.news from AllAfrica Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
