Advocating for Integration of Legal Services as a Component of Holistic Palliative Care

Persons facing life-threatening illnesses are particularly vulnerable and legal issues can increase stress for patients and families, and make coping harder; thus impacting on the quality of care by palliative care service providers. Article 43(1) (a) and Article 48 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 guarantee respectively the right to the highest attainable standard of Health and access to justice for all. Integrating legal services in palliative care becomes a critical component in providing a holistic care. This facilitates access to justice by bringing legal services closer to people ultimately contributing to improved health outcomes.

KELIN has been partnering with the Kenya Hospices and Palliative Care Association (KEHPCA) to progressively scale up integration of easily accessible and more affordable legal services in palliative care. This collaboration delivered of a series of sensitization forums for practicing advocates, health care service providers, community paralegals, patients and their families including free legal aid and awareness clinics. As a result there has been progressive demand from palliative care service providers, patients and their families for legal advice which trained health care workers, paralegals and lawyers collaborate in providing.

Now more than ever, there has been increased national level legal and policy advocacy agitating for recognition and development of a proper legal framework for palliative care in Kenya.

Join KELIN and KEHPCA in a unique workshop to deliberate on key legal and ethical concerns, familiarize with relevant legal and human rights framework and to share best practices to inform practice in palliative care. The workshop will take place during the 4^th National Palliative Care Conference which takes place from 12 to 14 November 2014 at the Laico Regency Hotel in Nairobi. A panel of legal and health experts; working with palliative care patients and families in various hospices in Kenya to provide legal assistance, will guide the discussions in this workshop.

Join the conversation on twitter using #Justice2Health