the Court of Auditors calls for “strengthening” the means outside the hospital, at home and in retirement homes

An offer “in progress”, but that needs to improve. The offer of palliative care has increased in the hospital, but half of the patients concerned still do not have access to it, warns the Court of Auditors in a new report, Wednesday, July 5. She calls to “to strenghten” means at home, as well as in retirement homes.

With an increasing supply of palliative care “by nearly 30% since 2015”, France has caught up some of its delay with its neighbours. This increase benefited “mainly in the hospital”where there were more than 7,500 dedicated beds in 2021. However, there are “territorial disparities still present”, and about twenty departments remain without specialized services.

Outside of hospitals, “the offer of home care remains incomplete, even non-existent in medico-social establishments”, deplores the Court of Auditors. The institution recommends “a great training plan” caregivers in retirement homes, as well as the generalization of mobile palliative care teams “over the whole territory”.

Needs “covered up to 50%”

New expenditure supposed to “strengthen the offer”, in order to “that the right to palliative care becomes effective”. Despite a budget of around 1.5 billion euros in 2021, the objective of“coverage of all needs” fixed by the Claeys-Leonetti law remains out of reach.

Thus, the Court considers that 60% of end-of-life patients require palliative care, i.e. approximately 380,000 people per year at this stage. These needs are not today “covered only up to 50%”while the population concerned will increase “significantly” due to population ageing.