A public health system that failed its own palliative care audit

Dr Andrea Mendelsohn, a palliative care doctor working in the public sector, writes about South Africa’s public palliative care system failing a forthcoming World Health Organization audit, and what genuine access to pain relief and family support could look like if that changed. The piece, written in her personal capacity, also touches on the ongoing legal debate around assisted dying, arguing that palliative care access should come first.