Published on: May 23, 2022

Rontu Sangma (Regional Coordinator-NE, State Facilitation, Pallium India) writes about his visit to Pallium India’s headquarters at Trivandrum, Kerala:

In March-April 2022, I visited Pallium India’s headquarters. This was my second visit to Trivandrum, the first being in 2019, soon after I joined this organization. In the ten days I spent there along with the rest of the State Facilitation team members from across the country, I got to meet several colleagues in person, whom I had so far seen only through zoom.

Knowing about our Head Office at Thiruvananthapuram and the various sectional divisions we have and the responsibilities of each of these departments saved me a lot of misunderstandings. It also helped me learn how to work with myself and other people, and how to invest in myself and work in a team.

The interaction with the teams from different departments gave me more insights. It has also helped me how the best leaders set strategy, build culture and manage uncertainty all in service of driving disruptive, transformative growth.

I can leverage someone’s strengths – like my colleague’s deliberativeness – to build a strong, well balanced team capable of executing on strategic goals. The challenges are immense, but together we can make a difference.

My homecare visit was different but a lasting and beautiful experience which I took alongside the team. We visited 7 homes. It was really astonishing to see that the nurses were able to carry out basic nursing procedures in the home to improve quality of life; indeed when monitored and done in a safe manner, is accessible and affordable and certainly seems to be in the best interests of palliative care patients, who otherwise would have to go to a hospital or a clinic, which is often disruptive and unpleasant for them.

Palliative Care is different, as I learnt whilst on my brief visit. It is not simply associated with the physical symptoms but the spiritual demands, the psychosocial aspects, and the affirmation of life, by helping patients to live as actively as possible through to death. It is truly, in a way that I had not previously experienced, holistic. Earlier my education was limited to a few minutes or an hour in a webinar, article or in a book.

So, I thank you all for the privilege of sharing your excellent services with me and for the beautiful hospitality I received from you all. And thank you especially to the organising committee for all your hard work in coordinating such a wonderful visit which was so informative and enjoyable.

I would also like to place on record my sincere appreciation for all the Pallium staff & colleagues from the respective departments who have provided us their time and useful knowledge sharing. Their active cooperation in providing necessary data and information is gratefully acknowledged.

This visit indeed has been instrumental in working out our strategic goals as a team and helps ensure the achievement of our vision of 2030 for a pain free India.

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