A screening of the feature-length documentary – ‘The Intensive Life Unit’ – opened a debate on palliative medicine at the FHSS USB

People watched the screening of the feature-length documentary ‘The Intensive Life Unit’ in the largest lecture hall of the FHSS USB with great interest. The event was transmitted to the next hall, which was mainly filled with students. The screening was followed by a debate with experts who talked about palliative medicine from different perspectives. The combination of the film and a discussion with people who know a lot about the topic from their own experience was unique. It broadened the horizons of not only the students present, but also elsewhere, because the debate was accessible online on ZOOM.

The feature-length documentary film, directed by Adéla Komrzý, depicts the work of the pioneers of Czech hospital palliative care, Mudr. Ondřej Kopecký, and Mudr. Kateřina Rusínová, Ph.D., at the VFN in Prague. The Clinic of Palliative Medicine was established as a pilot project to serve as a model for other hospitals. For example, a palliative and support team already exists at České Budějovice Hospital. However, until recently little has been known about this topic in the Czech Republic, and the young director took it up after personally experiencing the death of a loved one. Over the course of three years, she documented a team of professionals who help patients find solutions and make decisions about an appropriate starting point for them in an age of endless possibilities for artificially prolonging life. She shot over 150 hours of footage, so selecting footage for the final 75-minute documentary was very difficult. The fact that she succeeded is evidenced, among other things, by the award she received at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, and the audience's interest in a film about such a serious subject.