Flemish Welfare Minister Caroline Gennez wants to reform palliative care to give people in Flanders faster access to support, more consistent quality and greater control over the final stage of their lives.
According to the minister’s office, around 45,000 people in Flanders each year are told that their illness or condition can no longer be cured and that they are entering a palliative phase.
Not all of them receive palliative care, however, and support is often introduced too late, only in the very last stage of life.
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As a result, patients and informal carers can be left to absorb large amounts of information in a short time, at a moment when time is especially precious.
Some patients also end up in hospital despite preferring to remain at home. Palliative home care is also described as too fragmented, meaning the level of support available can depend on where a person lives.
With an ageing population making reform more urgent, Gennez said the changes are intended to improve access, raise standards and reduce the number of overlapping structures.
“Everyone in Flanders has the right to the same high-quality palliative home care, regardless of where they live,” the minister said.
A key part of the reform is to make palliative care available earlier by separating access to care from formal palliative status.
At present, access is often still linked to whether a patient has that status, which requires a doctor to determine that the person is expected to live for no more than three months.
The reform also aims to give palliative care a permanent place in the basic training of healthcare professionals, particularly GPs and frontline nurses.
Existing palliative home care organisations will be required to work more closely together, while their number will be reduced from 15 to five.
The new rules will set out the same responsibilities and quality standards for each organisation.
An official information point will also be created to answer questions about end-of-life care and related decisions.
The new regulations are due to be ready by the end of 2028 and rolled out in 2029.
The Flemish government is investing €15 million in palliative home care and end-of-life information services, including an additional €4 million to support the reform.
