Daffodil Day: If it wasn't for charities and fundraisers across the State, there would be no hospice services available outside of Dublin or Cork and no night nursing service for the terminally ill who wished to be cared for at home, a palliative care specialist said yesterday.
Dr Liam Ó Síoráin, medical director of Our Lady's Hospice in Harolds Cross and a consultant in palliative care medicine at St James's Hospital, both in Dublin, said there were "huge shortfalls" in State provision of palliative care services.
He said while the State-funded some home care nurses, it did not provide night nursing services for those wishing to spend their final days in their own home.
His comments coincided with the announcement of details of the Irish Cancer Society's annual fundraising campaign, Daffodil Day, which this year takes place on Friday, March 19th.
The society, which hopes to raise €3.3 million this year, revealed the numbers availing of its night nursing service had increased significantly in recent years. Some 850 families availed of the service in 2001, 980 in 2002 and 1,031 in 2003.
The society wants to extend the service to every community in the State to meet demand. It has appealed to the public to support Daffodil Day to help it do so.
"If we could not continue to grow and develop this service, many patients would have no other option but to be admitted to hospital in the terminal phase of their illness, often against their wishes," the society's chief executive, Mr John McCormack, said.
Families wishing to avail of the free night nursing service can do so through their home care team, GP or public health nurse. Each person is entitled to 70 hours of free nursing care. If extra support is needed after this, cases are considered on an individual basis and often extra hours are granted.