Signs of life in palliative care
South Africa is becoming a better place to die, says the latest quality-of-death index. The index, released by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranks South Africa 34th globally for palliative health care - a six-place rise since the first report in 2010.Liz Gwyther, CEO of the Hospice Palliative Care Association of South Africa, said while great strides had been made, only 4% of people received palliative care at the end of their lives. This was because, unlike the UK - ranked No1 globally - palliative care courses had started only recently at South African medical schools.Ironically, said Gwyther, South Africans on medical aid were unlikely to get good palliative care because doctors would rather treat a patient medically even if there was little chance of survival. ..
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