On Monday, February 22, an event was jointly organised in Brussels by Hospitality Europe and COMECE (Commission of the Bishops' Conferences of the European Community) on palliative care and nursing the terminally ill in Europe.

A publication on the state of palliative care in the European Union and the main ethical and social issues raised by the ageing population of European society was presented to the meeting by a COMECE group of experts on ethical and medical research.

Its opinions concentrate on the close relationship that exists between medical care and the human and spiritual accompaniment of the sick, and their loved ones.

Hospitality Europe provided support for the work of the COMECE group of experts by illustrating the care provided to terminally sick patients in the healthcare facilities of the Order and the Sisters Hospitallers.

The Brothers of St John of God manage 24 centres in Europe providing palliative care and nursing for the terminally ill with a total of just under 500 beds. These include the hospice in Munich, which opened in 2004 with 12 beds, and which every year cares for over 130 terminally ill patients with professionalism and humanity.

In Spain, the “Saint John of God” hospital at Santurce (Bilbao) stands out by having developed an innovative home-based palliative care programme, for which a specialised team of physicians, nurses, psychologists and spiritual assistants have been set up.