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The EAPC co-ordination centre for Eastern Europe
One of the top priorities of the EAPC has always been the development of high quality palliative care in Eastern Europe. Through a grant from the Open Society Institute (OSI - a George Soros Foundation), the EAPC co-ordination centre at Stockholms Sjukhem Foundation in Stockholm, Sweden, has been established in 2002, under the management of Sylvia Sauter and Carl Johan Fürst (Stockholms Sjukhem manager and director respectively).
The first aim of the co-ordination centre was to survey palliative care needs in different countries. Results point to high priority for activities related to education and training, legislation and policy questions among politicians, professionals and public.
The current aims of the project include the work for common minimal standards for palliative care services. Both the eastern and western part of Europe engaged in this work. Education and training on a pedagogic level, quality assurance programs and the realisation of centres with minimal standards proved by audit were other areas of activity.
The great challenge for us all was to support this development and to match it with improvement and audit in palliative care services all over Europe.
The centre was responsible to EAPC and acted as responsively as possible to proposals and suggestions communicated to us, growing a network of contacts and initiatives.
Stockholms Sjukhem Foundation in Stockholm, which is linked to the Karolinska Institute, locally supported the EAPC centre.
It is very important to emphasize that the EAPC co-ordination centre for Eastern Europe was the launch pad of the CEE & FSU Newsletter Task Force, which main goal was and still is to further develop the monthly online Central and Eastern European and Former Soviet Union Palliative Care Newsletter in English and Russian languages in order to cover palliative care activities in the countries of the region. A further aim is to increase the participation of these countries in international associations, movements and actions.
In fact the last EAPC East Newsletter (N° 28) was published in January 2005 and the first CEE&FSU Newsletter came to light in February 2005 with the same aims: to promote the development of palliative care in Central, Eastern Europe and in the Former Soviet Union countries.
Here below, in downloadable pdf format, the most relevant documents produced by the EAPC co-ordination centre for Eastern Europe.
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