Following the submission of the report by the Citizens’ Convention on the End of Life, the French President announced the creation of a ten-year palliative care strategy and a bill on the end of life. The latter should include the possibility of administering a lethal product prescribed by a doctor, or obtaining assistance.
The French end-of-life model is taking shape with a “small revolution” in palliative care. The French Minister for Territorial Organization and Health Professions, Agnès Firmin Le Bodo, wants to respond to the social and psychological needs of patients by creating “supportive care”.
The expert report, published after six months’ work, identifies five priority areas, including equitable access to supportive care and the mobilization of territories. A ten-year plan, unveiled in January, would propose 15 measures, including mass training in supportive care and the installation of 100 “supportive homes” offering care with a low degree of medicalization. The report also recommends mobilizing society in support of people at the end of life, and suggests experimenting with self-help groups.
