There is a fundamental contradiction between the wish of 80–90% of people to die in a natural environment and the reality of the Slovak healthcare system, where patients often “fall through the cracks” and die alone in acute hospitals. Henrieta Žilková, president of the Association of Hospice and Palliative Care (AHAPS), based on practical experience, identifies three critical areas of systemic failure: late identification of palliative patients, leading to “non-beneficial treatment”; the economic underfunding of mobile hospices; and insufficient cooperation between the healthcare and social sectors, which hinders the interdisciplinary approach of hospice teams toward patients and their families.

Attention will also be drawn to the necessity of systemic changes that directly reflect the needs of patients and their families in real-life settings. AHAPS, as the largest umbrella organization in the sector, declares its readiness to actively participate and be directly involved in the development of new legislation with competent lawmakers, so that the new legislation is fully compatible with real-world practice and protects human dignity until the very end of life. Palliative care is presented as an essential component of modern long-term care, aiming to bring more life into the final days of patients.