Equipa comunitária de suporte em cuidados paliativos: avaliação das necessidades num concelho da Região de Lisboa

Since palliative care (PC) is the right of every citizen, there is an urgent need to plan strategies and adapt resources to meet the holistic needs of patients and their families, in a decentralized view of hospital care, looking primarily for a response in a context of proximity, such as Primary Health Care.Objective: To evaluate the need for palliative care of one population of the Lisbon region. Material and methods: This is a quantitative and epidemiological study that involved the entire population of the Municipality and the users of the local Primary Health Care. The demographic and clinical characteristics of the population are described and the resource requirements in PC are estimated according to the authors in theoretical reference. Statistical data from public entities were used: Plano Local de Saúde extensão a 2020, Relatório de Caraterização do ACeS, Câmara Municipal, Pordata and Instituto Nacional de Estatística.Results: Based on the theoretical basis, we can infer that between the years 2011 and 2015, 1196 (69%) to 1399 (76%) of the people who died in the municipality suffered from a chronic, advanced and progressive disease, fitting the criteria of popu-lation needing palliative care.Conclusion: Since the relief of human suffering is a universal right, and its non-compliance with the violation of this principle, it is up to the decisionmakers define implementation strategies and resource adequacy. Based on the identification of the palliative care needs of the population, it is considered of paramount importance the reorganization of the existing home palliative care team in AceS, in order to fulfill and enforce a universal right.