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World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD), which is celebrated on 8 October 2022, is a unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. This year, the theme for WHPCD is “Healing Hearts and Communities”. It will be a day where communities, institutions and healthcare providers unite and raise their voices to advocate for palliative care policies and programmes that support the bereavement needs of patients and families.

The experience of grief and the need to heal is shared by the vast majority of humans throughout the world. This is particularly true now as we face the reverberation of six million deaths worldwide through COVID-19, several conflicts around the globe and, most recently, the collective outpouring arising from the death of Queen Elizabeth II. All these events have placed a tremendous strain on healthcare systems and unprecedented grief for health workers, care givers, relatives and the public at large. Many face grieving the death of family and friends while experiencing social isolation.

According to the Global Atlas of Palliative Care, over 56.8 million people are estimated to require palliative care every year including 31.1 million prior to and 25.7 million near the end of life. The majority (67%) are adults over 50 years old and at least 7% are children. The majority (54%) are non-decedents who need palliative care prior to their last year of life. The burden of severe illness and health related suffering, and the corresponding need for palliative care, are immense. Yet palliative care is still not accessible to most people in need, especially in low and middle-income countries.

Jersey Hospice Care provides free, high quality palliative care to adults and families across the Island of Jersey.

#HealingHeartsandCommunities  #GoodGrief   #WHPCDAY22