Established in 1841, EMMS International is Scotland’s longest-serving international healthcare charity. They currently work in Malawi, Nepal, India and Scotland, helping families gain access to healthcare services that are both financially and environmentally sustainable.
We spoke with Cathy Ratcliff, Chief Executive Officer and Director of International Programmes at EMMS International, to find out more about their palliative care programme.
“The SDG on health and well-being is the one that we major on, but everything we do also affects other SDGs. By helping young women into healthcare careers and ensuring hospitals are able to give good affordable care, we’re also helping to reduce poverty.”
Cathy Ratcliff
Providing care at the end of life
“In its purely medical sense, we help ensure that people get the pain relief they need. We also try and ensure that the whole family is prepared for the fact that there is going to be a death.”
Cathy Ratcliff
EMMS International has established itself as an expert in palliative care, ensuring that some of the poorest people in the world have their medical needs met at the end of life. Cathy explained that the palliative care programme also alleviates the financial burden of illness and enables children to continue their education instead of taking on a care role at home.
“When a family experiences a life-limiting condition, they spend all the money that they’ve got trying to find a cure. They get into debt. We can help stop that spiral into poverty just by recruiting people into a good palliative care programme.”
Cathy Ratcliff
Spotlight on: Malawi
Working in partnership with the Palliative Care Association of Malawi, EMMS International facilitated the ‘Chifundo project’. This was intended to increase the number of people trained to deliver palliative care in hard-to-reach facilities across Malawi. Lameck Thambo, National Coordinator at the Palliative Care Association of Malawi, told us that when people are diagnosed with a terminal illness in Malawi they are usually cared for by family in their local village. With limited access to palliative care services in such rural areas, families assume the burden of care, with expensive travel often required to obtain medical support or pain medication. By improving access to palliative care in rural communities, the Chifundo project has helped to relieve some of this burden while also ensuring that patients are free from pain and distress.
“Working in partnership, we have managed to achieve more than working by ourselves.”
Cathy Ratcliff
Spotlight on: Nepal
In Nepal, only 1.7% of families needing palliative care have access to it. EMMS International has been working in partnership with the International Nepal Fellowship (INF) to support the development of palliative care. The project started in 2013 with just a few beds at Green Pastures Hospital in Pokhara, Nepal’s second-largest city. With the recent expansion of a dedicated palliative care unit, the introduction of a community support initiative, and the establishment of a training centre, Green Pastures Hospital has evolved into a centre of excellence for palliative care.
It feels like family
Dr Ruth Powys, palliative care specialist at Green Pastures Hospital, shared one story of a man whose life was affected by the palliative care project in Nepal. The man had become quadriplegic after falling down a cliff. According to Ruth, he ended up developing some of the worst pressure sores she had ever seen. His son became his sole carer, so the palliative care team at Green Pastures Hospital has continued to support them both. They have even provided a carer allowance to the son, enabling him to continue his education. Without this support, Ruth explained that the son would have had to leave school and find work to afford food.
“My father wouldn’t be alive if there was no palliative care; there wouldn’t have been any other options. The staff taught me how to take care of him.”
Patient’s Son
“The staff members in the palliative care are very special. It feels like a family.”
Patient’s Son
Improving access by removing barriers
Through the provision of healthcare training programmes, EMMS International enables vulnerable young women to further their education and obtain careers in healthcare. According to Cathy, many of those involved with the programme come from rural areas where the healthcare workforce is limited, and many return to work in their local communities once qualified. This has improved the provision of healthcare in these rural locations.
“My favourite photos are of young women before they’ve gone to college and they really don’t look confident, and then you see them in their uniform next to a patient’s bed and it’s just utterly transformative.”
Cathy Ratcliff