Many cancer patients nearing the end of their lives are not receiving the care and support they need. To address the problem, a national training program in palliative care has been launched with support from the Dutch Cancer Society (KWF). The three-year educational program, 'National basic course in palliative care for patients with cancer', will be carried out by Amsterdam UMC on behalf of the national platform Optimizing Education for Palliative Care.

Palliative care aims to help patients and their families by identifying, assessing, and treating pain and other social or psychological needs to prevent and relieve suffering. Many incurable cancer patients are not receiving the care and support they need because of a lack of training in palliative care for health professionals, including nurses. In addition, doctors are focused on treating the tumor for as long as possible and have not received education to recognize the needs of people who are not getting better.

Research in the Netherlands shows that two thirds of healthcare professionals feel that they are insufficiently trained in the field of palliative care. This is not surprising because skills such as the compassionate delivery of bad news, listening to the needs of the patient, or providing support for psychological, social and spiritual problems are not a standard part of MBO, HBO and WO education programs in the Netherlands.

A patient’s perspective on palliative care

Jannie Oskam has metastatic breast cancer and is the author of 'Tussenland. About living when you look death in the eye. “Your life is uncertain and that creates fear and tension. All kinds of questions arise: Which treatment? What is really important to me? How do I experience the end of my life? It helps to meet doctors and nurses who recognize and understand what you are going through, and who make a connection to acknowledge who you are. Together you can decide how to address your needs. You will immediately notice whether a healthcare provider has experience in palliative care. Small questions or comments by care providers can evoke big feelings in you. This is why it’s my deep wish that all caregivers are trained in palliative care.”

Educational program for healthcare providers to improve palliative care

The Dutch Cancer Society has contributed € 900.000 in funding for Amsterdam UMC to implement the educational program in collaboration with the national platform Optimizing Education Palliative Care (O²PZ), Palliative Care Netherlands (PZNL), Expertise Center Palliative Care (EPZ), Palliactief, National Consultation Consortia (LOCo), and various other educational institutions in the healthcare sector. The program is working on training 420 teachers and as many care providers as soon as possible, ultimately with national coverage.

Johan van der Gronden, director of the Dutch Cancer Society: “In the regular training courses of healthcare professionals, the focus is mainly on getting better and there is minimal attention for palliative care. It is also important that terminally ill patients in the last phase of their life receive professional and appropriate care. This requires knowledge and skills for which specific training of healthcare professionals is required. Through this important investment in continuing education, KWF hopes to make a concrete contribution to the quality of palliative care in the Netherlands.”

For more information go to the Dutch Cancer Society press release, read about the educational program at O²PZ (in Dutch), or contact Cancer Center Amsterdam.

Parts of this article were adapted from 'Zorgverleners en KWF starten nascholingsprogramma palliatieve zorg' originally published by KWF Kankerbestrijding, with permission.