25 years of palliative medicine at the LMU Hospital

Enlarge

The academy supports around 1,000 course participants every year. The Interdisciplinary Centre for Palliative Medicine was founded 20 years ago and Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care (SAPV) was established at the LMU Hospital in Großhadern 15 years ago. "Palliative medicine is now an integral part of the German healthcare system. More and more people with advanced illnesses are benefiting from palliative medical and hospice outpatient and inpatient care options," says Prof. Dr. Claudia Bausewein, Director of the Clinic and Polyclinic for Palliative Medicine.

Palliative care refers to the comprehensive care of people with an incurable, progressive and terminal illness. "Our aim is to maintain and improve the patient's quality of life, alleviate physical and psychological complaints and provide support with social and spiritual existential issues. The wishes and goals of those affected and how they feel guide our support," explains Prof. Dr. Bausewein. Specially trained doctors, nurses, social workers, psychologists, respiratory therapists, physiotherapists and chaplains work closely together in the multi-professional palliative care teams to create an individual treatment concept for all patients and their relatives.

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität has always been a pioneer when it comes to palliative medicine: the Interdisciplinary Palliative Medicine Unit was founded here in 1999 under the direction of Prof. Dr. Gian Domenico Borasio, the first of its kind at a Bavarian university hospital. At that time, there were just two half-time positions in palliative medicine in addition to Prof. Borasio himself; today there are around 120 employees. In 2004, LMU Munich was also the first German university to integrate palliative medicine as a compulsory teaching and examination subject in medical studies. Research also has a special status at the clinic. "We have raised ten million euros in third-party funding since I took office in 2012," reports Prof. Bausewein. "That is very impressive for a clinic as small as ours, the faculty confirmed."

Palliative medicine cares for people with cancer, as well as those with chronic lung, heart and kidney diseases or advanced neurological disorders. "Unfortunately, most people come too late, I would very much like us to be consulted sooner," says Prof. Bausewein. The palliative care unit at the Großhadern site has ten beds, and around 300 seriously ill and dying people are cared for there every year. "We could occupy many more beds," says the doctor. "Unfortunately, we have to turn away just as many patients as we admit." However, it is not only patients on the palliative care ward who are cared for; the palliative care service provides specialist palliative care to seriously ill patients with a limited life expectancy together with their relatives during their inpatient stay on all wards of the LMU Hospital.

The palliative outpatient clinic offers patients suffering from an advanced, incurable illness early advice or outpatient treatment options. The Specialized Outpatient Palliative Care (SAPV) looks after people with an advanced, incurable illness at home with their family. 40 employees work there and care for patients in the city of Munich and the districts of Munich and Ebersberg.

The respiratory distress outpatient clinic is aimed at patients who suffer from respiratory distress due to a chronic illness and are therefore impaired in their everyday lives. And then there is the "Palliative Pharmacy Competence Center", where five pharmacists work. "It is a central point of contact for palliative medicine drug information, particularly in the area of off-label use," explains Prof. Bausewein. "We want to use our knowledge to support all relevant professional groups in palliative medicine in therapy planning when it comes to questions about drug therapy. Our aim is to make drug therapy as safe as possible for patients and as less stressful as necessary."

Palliative medicine at the LMU Hospital has developed enormously over the last 25 years, has always been a pioneer and is still a benchmark for all those working in this field today. To mark the occasion, an anniversary symposium was held on November 9 with around 300 participants, and the four anniversaries will also be celebrated in November with a ceremony on "25 years of palliative competence".