A cloak that does not conceal but rather reveals the importance of care for incurably ill people: that is what Vidas is asking everyone to wear on 11 November, on the occasion of National Palliative Care Day.

Why a #datemiunmantello?

The cloak evokes protection, security, but also a sense of "being a community" in the spirit of receiving and offering help, care and warmth: standing together under the cloak means being there.

Anyone can take part in the awareness campaign #datemiunmantello, which also winks at the etymology of the Latin word pallium and the legend of Saint Martin. All you need to do is drape any piece of fabric over your shoulders – scarves, blankets, tablecloths, as long as they are red like Vidas – take a photo or video of yourself and post it on 11 November on your social media profiles with the hashtag #datemiunmantello.

It is a symbolic gesture to inform and raise awareness among citizens and institutions about the importance of the palliative care model, which offers people affected by incurable conditions and their families, through a multidisciplinary and personalised approach, appropriate responses to clinical, psychological and social needs.

Every year in Italy more than 500,000 adults need palliative care, yet only 1 in 4 patients actually accesses it. Added to these are 35,000 minors diagnosed with an incurable illness, of whom 11,000 require specialist care, and in the paediatric area too the percentage of those who make use of their right to receive palliative care is very low: just 5 per cent.

A continuously growing need

Yet the need for palliative care in our country is continuously growing. According to Tania Piccione, President of the Federazione cure palliative – the national organisation that brings together 103 non-profit bodies including Vidas – "In the face of growing need, the development of palliative care networks remains uneven across the country, with critical issues relating in particular to the implementation of paediatric palliative care networks, the management of non-oncological patients and the strengthening of home palliative care services."

When asked what the most pressing challenges to address in the short term are, Piccione replies that the challenge today, also driven by the reform of community-based care, "is to succeed in providing proximity services to patients. In this context, palliative care must play a leading role in ensuring appropriate care responses in the places where patients live and in making the healthcare system more sustainable."

The day's events

On national palliative care day there will be not only cloaks but also… threads! "Non perdere il filo" ("Don't lose the thread") is in fact the flashmob organised by the Federazione cure palliative in collaboration with the social promotion association "Danzare le origini". The event in Milan takes place at 12:00 on Friday 11 November in Piazza Duomo, where healthcare workers, family members and volunteers from the 32 Lombard organisations affiliated with the Federation will gather to bring to life, together with passers-by, a striking choreography.