Published on: July 6, 2016

“In India, the poor die in agony in neglect, the middle-class die in agony in ignorance and the rich die in agony on a ventilator. No one gets a dignified and pain-free death”, Dr Rajagopal quotes Dr Sankha Mitra in his article titled “Saying good-bye with dignity” published in The Hindu dated July 5, 2016.

Dr Rajagopal describes the path of palliative care development in India, the involvement of the community and the role played by the central and state governments. Despite creation of a national program for palliative care, progress has been slow due to lack of budget allocation and professional education. Hospitals still do not stock and dispense morphine, and the basic principles of modern pain management are not being taught to medical and nursing students.

Read the complete article here: Saying good-bye with dignity