Service

Palliative care (PC) services in ELCT started officially in 2004 under the support of Americal missionary - Dr Kristopher Hartwig from ELCA. The initial support and the only personel was from ELCA and this enabled the start up of the program in ELCT facilities. Laterin 2006 with funding from USAID, the project called CHAT was established and this ran first in 7 facilities (Iambi, Machame, Marangu, Gonja, Bumbuli, Ilembula and Bunda) and eventually in 13 hospitals.

Mission: 

To enhance and develop Palliative Care efforts throughout the ELCT health system, incorporating the basic principles of Palliative Care with an emphasis on holistic care to the patients and their families , including physical, psychological, social as well as spiritual health and relationships. 

Second batch included Hospitals like Itete, Matema, Haydom, Ndolage, Nyakahanga and Nkoaranga. CHAT project was coordinated by Doctor Kristopher Hartwig, and supported by the team of 5 people at the HQ office and each implemnting hospital had at least 4 proffesional staff. CHAT project was also very sucessful in establishing the infrastructures and services both at the facility and the community level,this project ended in 2011. Before the end of CHAT, 17 hospitals were already implementing Palliative Care services with the support from ELCA with those non CHAT facilities. 

After the end of CHAT ELCT PC program added more 3 hospitals providing Palliative Care Services under its care which made a total of 20 ELCT hospital implementing PC services under the coordination of ELCT HQ to present. Before 2011, there were only 3 facilities which were licenced to prescribe morphine in Tanzania. But through advocacy along with other PC stakeholders in Tanzania, today Morphine availability in ELCT facilities remains one of the major breakthough in Tanzania. Morphine for management of PC conditions and severe pain is available in 19 out of the 20 PC implementing facilities in ELCT.

After the end of CHAT project ELCA continued their partnership with ELCT PC program which has seen the program further grow to the level of 20 PC implementing facilities.

As part of sustainability of the program, ELCT PC program is partnered with Global Partners in care (GPIC) formally FHSSA, and through this great partnership, some 17 facilities among the 20 are partnered with US hospices, the partnership which is enabling them to have some technical and financial suppor t including exchange visits that are geared into establishment of stronger relationship through experience sharing and learning from each other. Although each of these partnerships is twined to one Lutheran Hospital, their level of support differs a lot depending on their varying financial capabilities

Achievement of this program.

• The program has succeeded to scale up the services to cover 23 among 24 hospitals and 4 among 148 lower health facilities.
• Easy the access and availability of morphine
• Involved in the Palliative Care National policy guideline development process and Organization of different advocacy forums for Palliative Care policy implementation.
• Involved in the capacity building of health providers