The Palestinian Authority is a resource poor area, where supportive care with palliation may be linked to the development of other services. Where opioids are difficult to access the definition of palliative care can be problematic. We have taken the view that where a service is in the process of development from (largely) physical care to a broader form of holistic care it should be included in the review.

There are no specific palliative care services in the Palestinian Authority. The charitable non governmental organisation (NGO), the Patient’s Friends Society- Jerusalem (PFS) located inside the Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, offers psychosocial support, advice and education.

There are 6 oncology units in general hospitals around the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, which provide pain and symptom relief for adults at the end of life. Two of the units in the Gaza Strip also care for children. (Table 1)

Table 1 Palliation and palliative support available to Palestinians 2005

Hospital oncology units There are 6 oncology units which offer pain and symptom control at the end of life. The Augusta Victoria Hospital in East Jerusalem, which has a government funded oncology unit, treats around 100 cancer patients per year.² There are 2 government funded units in the Palestinian Authority West Bank, Beit Jala Hospital and Nablus Hospital (no patient numbers available). There are 3 government funded units in the Gaza Strip, which between them treat an estimated 700 patients per year;³ around 55% of patients in the north of Gaza access services at the Shifa Hospital and a paediatric oncology unit at the Nasser Hospital, and around 45% of patients in the south of Gaza access services at the European Gaza Hospital, which also treats children.⁴

Palestinians may also access palliation via Israeli services if they live in East Jerusalem and have an Israeli identity card and health insurance. If patients have the means to pay, there are oncologists who run small private oncology clinics in the West Bank, or patients are given referrals to services in Jordan, Egypt and other countries overseas.⁵

The Patient’s Friends Society, Jerusalem (PFS) focuses on women’s health and public health though health education and psychosocial support. Services include breast cancer and osteoporosis screening; lectures; advice about cancer via health education literature and a Helpline service; self-help groups for women with breast cancer in the West Bank; newsletters and seminars for physicians and other health professionals working in, for example, small clinics around the West Bank, some of which may be supported by other NGOs and UN organisations.⁶ Where possible PFS offers psychosocial support to women with cancer at the end of life.⁷

There is no reported palliation or support for patients with other illnesses including heart disease or stroke. At the time of writing this report the incidence of HIV/AIDS is reportedly still very rare but supportive care is provided if needed.⁸