TERAMO – Sunday 26 May will be celebrated XXIII National Relief Day, established in 2001 with a directive from the President of the Council of Ministers to «promote and demonstrate, through appropriate information and through awareness and solidarity initiatives, the culture of relief from physical and moral suffering in favor of all those who are completing their life journey , not being able to benefit from treatments intended for recovery”. The treatments aimed at people with an illness that has reached the terminal stage, the “palliative care” is a sign of civility and respect for the dignity of the person.
The anniversary therefore calls for a moment of reflection, therefore, on the activities aimed at bringing relief to those who suffer. There are various activities implemented by the Teramo Local Health Authority to address the issue of pain. Below are some data relating to 2023.
There are 448 patients followed at home by the palliative care network in the province (for a total of 14,715 nursing visits, 1,551 medical visits and 132 psychological visits). Again in 2023, 164 patients will be hospitalized in the Hospice in the Casalena district (for a total of 2,185 days of care and 9 patients discharged home).
The local health authority also has a series of pain relief clinics. Two are active in as many hospitals. That of the Teramo hospital (where there is a pain therapy unit, within the Anesthesia and Resuscitation department, which performs various services, from acupuncture for anesthesia, to systemic arterial blood gas analysis, to the infiltration-injection of therapeutic substances in the joint or ligament, to pain therapy with scrambler-therapy per session and more) in 2023 it performed 3,896 services. The one in the Sant’Omero hospital, within the Anesthesia and Intensive Care Unit, performed 982 in 2023.
There are also pain therapy clinics in two health districts. In the Teramo clinic (where for example acupuncture for anesthesia, systemic arterial blood gas analysis, infiltration-injection of therapeutic substances into the joint or ligament, pain therapy with scrambler-therapy per session are performed) the services performed are 961. The clinic active in the district of Montorio last year it carried out 1,294.
“Not suffering is everyone’s right – comments the general director of the Teramo ASL Maurizio Of Josiah – always, but especially in an advanced stage of illness, the person who suffers must be placed at the centre. The culture of relief from physical and moral suffering must be the heritage of everyone and even more so of a healthcare company that takes care of the patient both at home and in the hospital and in the basic districts”.
