04.04.2018

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister, Olga Golodets, has given the Ministry of Health three months to draw up the main requirements for a single registration system for people in need of pain relief and palliative care.

At a meeting of the Federation Council on Guardianship in the Social Sphere on 3 April, Golodets said that information on those people in need of help was very patchy and inconsistent, reported TASS. “As of today, the Ministry will have three months in which to develop and agree the system”, said Golodets.

Earlier, in her report to the Council, Anna Federmesser, Head of the Multi-Disciplinary Centre for Palliative Care at Moscow’s Department of Health and founder of the charity Faith had said that a single register for those in need of pain relief was needed at federal level.

Sergei Kraevoi, Russia’s Deputy Health Minister, stressed that responsibility for maintaining the register would fall to the regions, although the Ministry would be able to prepare the regulatory documentation to ensure the system was standardised.

According to Kraevoi, the demand for non-invasive pain treatment rose by a third last year compared to 2016, reports TASS. “In 2017, the volume of standard requests by Russian entities for painkillers increased by 35% compared to 2016”, he said.

In 13 Russian Federation regions, demand for painkillers accounts for only 10% of those in need. However, the Federation is currently developing the necessary regulatory and legal framework for providing pain relief.

Olga Golodets reminded everyone of the need to ensure that every patient who needs pain relief treatment is able to access it, and stressed that all the necessary resources will be deployed to make this happen.

“Until such time as we have absolute confidence that the necessary medication will be available to those who need it, we must keep this issue high on the public agenda. We must work out in detail how this task will be achieved by the Ministry of Health, as well as discussing ways in which monitoring will be undertaken by civic and non-governmental organisations”, said Golodets as reported on the Russian Government’s official website.

Source: https://www.asi.org.ru/news/2018/04/04/obezbolivanie-golodets/