Non-Communicable Diseases

Palliative Care

In rural parts of resource-poor countries, where healthcare is inaccessible, diagnoses of non-communicable diseases, such as cancer, are often made late or not at all, making each case devastating. The cost of travelling for tests and often futile treatment can add up to a crippling debt for families. EMMS International has established itself as an expert in palliative care. It has seen specialist services developed, improved access to essential medicines, established degree-level training programmes and worked with governments to ensure palliative care is a recognised healthcare priority.

Your support means care doesn’t stop when there isn’t a cure.

Developing Palliative Care Services in Rural Nepal

In Nepal, only 1.7% of families needing palliative care have access to it. The completion of a Centre of Excellence at Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara has given EMMS the opportunity to expand rural palliative care in western Nepal. Having quality care at or close to home stops families having to choose between healthcare for their loved ones and education for the next generation. Donations to our Every Girl Matters appeal were doubled by the UK government to support the expansion of rural care and help young girl carers return to school and enjoy the benefits of an education.

Aaditya

25-year-old Aaditya is from a remote village in northern Nepal. He suffered a high-level spinal cord injury after a motorbike accident. He is bed-bound with severe pressure sores. He and his family are now being cared for by the Palliative Care team at Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara, which was developed by EMMS International. They are supported by a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists and counsellors.

“With the Palliative Care Multidisciplinary Team’s support, my son can move his hands, sit on a wheelchair, and eat his meals with a smile. He is even enjoying music. His mother’s psychological pain is being addressed by our Palliative Care Counselling Team. The care providers have increased my son’s and his family’s courage.”

- Aaditya's father

Developing Palliative Care Services in Malawi

Over a period of 10 years, EMMS has built up palliative care services in Malawi until the country achieved an amazing score equal to that of the UK in the Global Atlas of Palliative Care. From small beginnings in Malawi, we developed a programme of activities that we can vary for any country, including supporting a national association, pre-service training of healthcare staff, in-service training in select facilities, Masters degrees and a PhD to provide university teachers and Malawi-focussed research, advocacy for drugs, audits of health facilities against African Palliative Care standards, and much more, all the while improving care for tens of thousands of families.

Building Palliative Care Services in Zambia and Rwanda

A national association is vital for advocacy, professionalism and change in the palliative care sector. It is the foundation stone for all the scaling up and professionalisation of palliative care that we have done in India, Malawi and Nepal. We are very excited to be starting out on the same journey in Zambia and Rwanda, adding them to our expanding programme of palliative care, now in 5 countries.

Zambia

EMMS began work in Zambia in 2017, when we started to support a senior palliative care nurse to gain her MSc in Palliative Care. Since then we have written joint published papers with this nurse. Now EMMS is supporting the development of a national association for palliative care in Zambia, hosted by the Zambian Medical Association.

Rwanda

In Rwanda, EMMS is supporting the nascent national palliative care association, PCAR (Palliative Care Association of Rwanda) in two ways. We are developing its policies and procedures, strengthening its ability to expand. And we are helping it to support palliative care patients with costs of transport to treatment in specialist hospitals. Both are vital to PCAR and its work.

Dementia Care

The cost-of-living crisis is seriously affecting families in the UK, where dementia is causing isolation and loneliness.

EMMS International is supporting projects that provide free food, care and therapeutic activities to dementia patients and their families within their communities in Scotland. This is a natural follow-on from our previous programme in Scotland, which continues to provide respite care for families with life-limiting illness in Hawthorn Brae House in Perthshire.

Albert, who was diagnosed with vascular dementia at the age of 78, attends a weekly community lunch near his home in Edinburgh:

“I was isolated at home on my own and this didn’t help with worrying and overthinking. I was worried about my future and how I would cope. I felt that I had nowhere to turn. I am now connected within my community and have made lots of new friends. I can stay at home for longer. I’m happy and enjoying life again. My outlook has changed so much since my diagnosis, all because of the Day Service that I attend.”