Published on: March 31, 2025

Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society (PRPCS) in Hyderabad is an NGO well known for their accomplishments in the field of Palliative Care. Their collaboration with the National Health Mission (NHM) of Telangana resulted in the initiation of palliative care services in 33 district hospitals in the state. 

In an effort to understand this model of palliative care in the government sector, Pallium India’s facilitation team comprising John Surya (Regional Facilitator-South) and Shalini AJ (National Head-Facilitation) visited Kumudini Devi Hospice. The objective was to learn a new model of setting up palliative care units in government institutes, from the leading palliative care experts.

The Pallium India team was welcomed warmly by PRPCS President, Mr. JN. Jagannath, a retired IRTS (Indian Railway Traffic Service) Official, who has now devoted his life to the work of PRPCS. He explained in detail the whole working of PRPCS through their 45 bedded hospice and a network of 13 homecare teams. He also shared how a dedicated effort by one senior government official can create a valuable change in the society. Their work with the NHM of Telangana had the support of such a committed officer. 

Ms. Vineela Rapelli, Program Coordinator of PRPCS and Kumudini Devi Hospice, guided the team through the hospice campus. Her personal commitment to the cause of suffering children made her a counsellor for these families. With her efforts Kumudini hospice could be the first non-government institution to procure a Recognised Medical (RMI) Certificate. This certificate is a legal compliance for non government institutes anywhere in India if they want to procure Essential Narcotics Drugs (ENDs) like morphine, fentanyl, methadone and codeine.

Image: Ms. Shalini, (Head, National Facilitation, Pallium India) gifts a copy ‘Walk with the Weary’ by Dr M.R. Rajagopal, to the Telangana State Drug Controller, Mr. G Ramadhan, in the presence of Mr. John Surya (Regional Facilitator-South, Pallium India) and Ms. Swathy (Pharmacist, Kumudini Hospice).

The visiting team could also meet the founder of PRPCS, Dr. Gayatri Palat, who is a globally renowned palliative care physician. She heads the Dept of Palliative Medicine in MNJ Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad and also is the Director of the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration- Canada. She described her experience of working with government officials and the challenges she faced. Thanks to Dr. Gayatri, the duo could also visit the famous Pediatric Palliative Care Ward of MNJ Cancer Institute and witness the invaluable work that she and team are doing for the children with cancer.

Ms. Vineela and Ms. Swathy, the pharmacist of Kumudini Hospice, also introduced the Pallium India team to the State Drug Controller, Mr. G Ramadhan (Joint Director, Drugs Control Administration). Mr. Ramadhan, who is  very supportive of the palliative care work, encouraged palliative care centres in Telangana to apply for Recognised Medical Institution (RMI) Certificate for a simpler compliant process to procure opioids. 

The team also visited two other established palliative care centers in the city of Hyderabad – Basavatarakam Indo-American Cancer Hospital: Indus Cancer and Sparsh Hospice. Dr. Praneeth Suvvari, Palliative care physician at Basavatarakam and their pharmacy manager, Mr. Narayanan shared their queries around the RMI certification. A similar discussion happened with Ms. Radhika Kancherla, Operations Head and Dr. Raju, palliative care physician at Sparsh, also an alumni of Pallium India. Both the organizations are keen on applying for the RMI certificate.

The visit acquainted the team with the current palliative care scenario of Telangana state. It also emphasised the need for continued advocacy for a compliance process for procuring pain management medicines in all states.