By Chung Hyun-chae
Terminal cancer patients will be able to receive hospice services at home starting next month.
The Ministry of Health and Welfare said Sunday that it will run a pilot service from March 2 to allow late-stage cancer patients to spend their last days with their families at home while receiving professional care.
Korea offers such services at hospice wards or hospitals; but this is the first time for the home hospice services to be introduced. The measure is in line with the recent passage of a bill on death with dignity, which allows patients with no hope of recovery to end their lives by refusing life-sustaining treatment.
The patients can get the home hospice services by paying 5,000 won ($4.14) for a visit by nurse and 13,000 won for a visit by a doctor, nurse and social worker altogether.
The staff will provide medical treatment as well as mental counseling. They will visit the patients at least once a week, and a 24-hour helpline service for medical assistance is available.
Experienced medical staff will provide the service, such as nurses with at least two years work at a hospice.
Seventeen hospitals throughout the nation will participate in the pilot project, including Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital of the Catholic University of Korea, Chungnam National University Hospital in Dajeon, and Chonbuk National University Hospital in North Jeolla Province.
The health ministry said it will expand the project next year after evaluating this year’s pilot program.
“We plan to develop this program to help more cancer patients preserve their dignity during the last days of their lives,” a ministry official said.
While the pilot service is only for terminal cancer patients, it will eventually be expanded to include patients with acquired immune deficiency syndrome, chronic cirrhosis and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.