Legal Aspects of Palliative Care in Ukraine

The article addresses the problems of palliative care in Ukraine. It has provided a characteristic of existing regulations in this field. In the legislation of Ukraine it is defined that palliative care is provided at the latest stages of incurable diseases and it includes a set of measures aimed at alleviating the physical and emotional suffering of patients, as well as providing psychosocial and moral support to members of their families. One of the most actual problems is receiving narcotic pain medication. Narcotic analgesics are drugs of strict accountability. Painkillers in Ukraine are not registered in tablets, plasters. Therefore, palliative patients depend on injection drug administration. It’s a fact that in foreign countries Medicinal Cannabis is used for anesthesia and the treatment of certain diseases. This substance is banned in Ukraine. Public organizations are trying to initiate a law that would legalize this drug for the use in medicine. The next actual problem is psychological support of patients. It is noted that palliative patients and their families need psychological and spiritual support. A foreign experience has been analyzed in this field. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the USA has founded a special curriculum for doctors. The aim is to improve understanding of the basic principles of palliative care. It is possible to arrange upgrading courses, read necessary lectures or print literature and appropriate brochures for healthcare professionals. It suggests an improvement in the education of palliative workers on the basis of higher education. There is a problem with the lack of staff in the hospices of Ukraine. This profession is not popular and employees of hospices have a small salary. Still, this work is responsible and nervous. The article also presents an analysis of the trends and the development of laws in the field of palliative care in Ukraine. Manuscript received 28.02.2019