In an aging society like China's, there’s a growing demand for medical services geared for the elderly, which includes end-of-life care for patients with chronic and terminal illnesses like cancer. Palliative care is still relatively undeveloped in China, but interest is growing.
Now, medical institutions from southwest China's Yunnan Province and Singapore have signed a deal to help improve palliative care practices in the province.
Dr. Wu Huei Yaw (1st L), serves as Senior Consultant of Palliative Medicine Department at Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Singapore. He's also the leader of Singapore International Volunteer Team. /CGTN Photo
Dr. Ma Ke is the head of palliative care at Yunnan New Kun Hua Hospital. Having worked in this role for over 20 years, he's long been devoted to providing care to the terminally ill.
Ma has witnessed the passing away of more than 30,000 patients. He told CGTN that he doesn't think China has a complete system in the field of palliative care, with many medical institutions still testing the water and are still on the road.
Experts from Singapore have come to join the local medical staff on a three-year training program. As outlined by the program, the Singapore side will offer training courses to 50 Chinese master trainers, who will then pass on that knowledge to their peers in Yunnan.
The palliative care training program was launched on January 7th at New Kun Hua Hospital in Kunming, Yunnan Province, SW China. /CGTN Photo
The Enhancing Palliative Care in Yunnan, China project, launched on January 7 in the provincial capital Kunming, is a joint program involving the Singapore International Foundation, the Yunnan New Kun Hua Hospital and the Yunnan Health and Development Research Association, as well as Singapore's Tan Tock Seng Hospital.
China is now home to more than 200 million people over the age of 60. Chronic diseases like cancer are their primary causes of death yet across the nation, fewer than 150 institutions and nursing homes specialize in end-of-life care. Most of the services are provided by community health care centers, instead of public hospitals.
Dr. Ma Ke (R) talks to a family member of a terminally ill patient inside a counseling room. It's part of the focuses of palliative care services. /CGTN Photo
Palliative care focuses on quality-of-life issues and pain relief and allows end-of-life patients to die peacefully. Dr. Ma said China needs to get past its traditional reluctance to talk about death. He shared with CGTN that China lacks a formal death education program. Given that death is a natural process, Ma called for efforts to make education about it part of the national curriculum.
The program is expected to directly benefit some 36,000 local patients and caregivers by the end of 2021. The practices put in place could then serve untold numbers of aging Chinese for years to come.