Published on: October 1, 2019

Accelerate efforts to eliminate cervical cancer: WHO

World Health Organization urged countries in its South-East Asia Region to accelerate efforts to eliminate cervical cancer by 2030.

“Countries need to expand vaccination, screening, detection and treatment services for everyone, everywhere to address the growing problem of cervical cancer,” said Dr Poonam Khetrapal Singh, Regional Director WHO South-East Asia, at the Seventy Second Session of WHO Regional Committee here in Delhi.

Read more: http://www.searo.who.int/mediacentre/releases/2019/1720/en/

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AIIMS to ensure dignified death for non-cancer patients too

Times of India

Of the 80 countries surveyed for quality of death, India ranked 67. The result didn’t come as a surprise though because the concept of end-of-life care (EOLC) that attempts to reduce the suffering of terminally ill patients barely exists in the country. In a first, All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to draft a policy to provide the same to its registered in-patients.

“Often, families of patients suffering from the end stage diseases request us to stop treatment. They don’t want to see them going away in pain and with multiple tubes inserted in the body. Our EOLC policy will attempt to address these issues,” Dr Randeep Guleria, the director of AIIMS, told TOI.

Read more: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/aiims-to-ensure-dignified-death-for-non-cancer-patients-too/articleshow/71284180.cms

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Pallium India Awards 2019 – call for applications

Pallium India invites applications for the following awards for contributions towards improving palliative care awareness in the society:

1. The Pallium India Print Award: for the best article / article series about palliative care in India that has been published in print or social media.

2. The Pallium India Visual Awards: for the best visual presentation of palliative care in India in visual or social media, broadcast between January 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019.

3. The Pallium India Creativity Award: for the best two-minute video that highlights palliative care in the Indian context.

The awards (consisting of ₹10,000 and plaque) will be presented on October 12, 2019 at the World Palliative Care Day celebrations in Trivandrum.

Last date to submit applications: October 5, 2019

Send in your entries to: info@palliumindia.live-website.com

In case of queries, contact: info@palliumindia.live-website.com OR call Babu Abraham: 9746745502 / Manoj G. S: 9746746528

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Oral Morphine added to Essential Drug List

It is reliably learnt that oral morphine tablet (10mg) has been included in the essential drug list of Kerala Medical Services Corporation Ltd (KMSCL), Kerala. All government hospitals with a doctor with at least 10 days training in pain management/ palliative care can submit their annual requirement to the Director of Health Services by 21st October 2019.

Any institution/ government hospital which is not clear about the procedure to be followed in stock-keeping and documentation, please write to info@palliumindia.live-website.com and we will be happy to work with you.

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Food Festival 2019

Please visit and support Food festival 2019 – home made food of all kinds prepared by Pallium India’s volunteers, staff and well-wishers to raise funds for palliative care activities.

Venue: Canara Bank, Spencer Junction, Trivandrum

Date: Oct 4 & 5,2019

Time: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Contact: +91-9746745502

Please visit and support us!

(Click on the image to read the notice in Malayalam.)

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Register Now for Bruce Davis Gold Medal Examination

(Remembering the great man who did a lot for palliative care in India and who sadly left us in April 2018).

Bruce Davis Gold Medal Examination was launched by Institute of Palliative Medicine, Kozhikode, Kerala, in 2005 with an aim to improve awareness about palliative care among young doctors in India. This is the only national level program to honour junior doctors for their excellence in Palliative Medicine.

Participate and win!

National level online screening test is open. Last date: Oct 30, 2019

For more information and to apply, please visit: instituteofpalliativemedicine.org/bdgm.php

Tel: +91 495 2354166

E-mail: ipmacademics@gmail.com

www.instituteofpalliativemedicine.org

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Patient get-together on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day 2019

You can help! Please do.

This year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is on October 12, 2019.

The theme for this year’s palliative care day is: Palliative Care: it’s My Care, My Right.

The theme My Care, My Right aims to communicate that palliative care can be demanded by the public – and that, together, every person impacted by a life-limiting illness can influence their policy makers to prioritize palliative care financing under Universal Health Coverage.

To know more about World Palliative Care Day, please visit: http://thewhpca.org/about

Patient Get-together at IHMCT, Trivandrum

Every year, Pallium India commemorates World Hospice and Palliative Care day by taking the people we care for (including their families, of course) for an outing to a local amusement spot, beach, museum, zoo, park, etc. Many of these people are denied opportunities to see beyond the four walls of their houses and they cherish the memory of these fun-filled days and eagerly await the next one.

This year Pallium India is organizing a get-together of patients and their family members on 12th October 2019 at Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology (IHMCT), Kovalam from 9 a.m to 4 p.m. This program is being arranged with the enthusiastic support of the staff and students of IHMCT. We expect around 450 people to take part in it.

Please Donate!

We request well-wishers to donate so that this day can be enjoyable for the participants. Click here to make a donation. Please add in the ‘Notes’ that your donation is to be used for World Palliative Care Day activities.

Contact: Babu Abraham +91-9746745502

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KU colleges to have student palliative clubs

The Hindu

The University of Kerala will soon institute Student Palliative clubs in its affiliated colleges as part of enhancing its community outreach activities.

Under the programme, college students will tend to terminally ill patients and those suffering from acute illness and mental agony. Besides popularising palliative care among the student community, the palliative clubs will be entrusted with assisting in the rehabilitation of patients and participating in other palliative care activities within communities.

Read more: https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/ku-colleges-to-have-student-palliative-clubs/article29443422.ece

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IAPCON 2020, Guwahati

27th International Conference on Palliative Care (IAPCON 2020, Guwahati), is scheduled from Feb 14th to 16th, 2020 with pre-conference workshops on Feb 13th, 2020 at Guwahati Medical College, Guwahati.

The theme of the Conference is “Entrust, Engage & Empower”.

Click here to know the Scientific Program: http://iapcon2020.com/scientific_program.html

Registration: http://iapcon2020.com/registration_fees.html

For more information, please visit the conference website: http://iapcon2020.com/index.html
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4 seats for Palliative Medicine Fellowship at Kidwai Institute

Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru (affiliated to Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences) invites candidates for a walk-in interview for one-year Fellowship Program in Palliative Care.

No of Seats: 4

Date of interview: Oct 4, 2019

Time: 10.00 a.m.

Venue: Seminar Hall (Next to Director’s Office), Kidwai Institute of Oncology, Bengaluru

* Bring original documents

* Selected candidates have to join within one day.

For further information, please contact: 080-26094024

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Primary palliative care competency framework for primary care and family physicians in India

An article published in J Family Med Prim Care (2019 Aug; 8(8): 2563–2567) by Shrikant Atreya et al spells out the core palliative care competencies for primary care and family physicians of India, as defined by a joint task force of Indian Association of Palliative Care and Academy of Family Physicians of India.

The article can be accessed free at Primary palliative care competency framework for primary care and family physicians in India

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Online Foundation Course in Palliative Medicine (for doctors)

The Objective of the Online Foundation Course in Palliative Medicine is to train healthcare professionals in pain management and palliative care.

To ensure adequate interaction during sessions, we will have to limit the number of participants at each course on a first-come, first-served basis. So register quickly!

Eligibility

M.B.B.S or B.D.S with permanent registration with medical council.

Class Details

Classes Scheduled: 18 Sessions
Start Date: 23 Oct 2019
End Date: 4 Mar 2020
Day of the week: Wednesdays
Class Timing: 3:00 PM – 4:30 PM

Course Fees

Course fees is ₹2000. Payment is to be made on acceptance of the application.

How to apply

Download the application form, fill it up and send it to tipsecho@palliumindia.live-website.com

How to join the session

ECHO is conducted through ZOOM application which can be downloaded(free download) from Google play store for mobile phones and direct download from internet for Windows.

Download from: https://zoom.us/download

Click here for instructions on how to download and join a meeting

Contact

For more information on this course or for any assistance, please call us at +91-6282902450 or write to us: tipsecho@palliumindia.live-website.com

Clinical Director: Dr M. R. Rajagopal

Project Facilitator: Dr Sunilkumar M. M.

Project Coordinator: Ms Rajalekshmi Balu

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Vacancy: Physiotherapist at Trivandrum

Role: Physiotherapist for rehabilitation program for people with paralysis.

Location: Pallium India, Trivandrum

Profile:

  • Bachelor’s degree in Physiotherapy
  • Passionate about empowering people with disabilities
  • Creative and interested to find solutions with minimum resources
  • Fluent in Malayalam and English

Responsibilities (includes but not limited to):

  • Co-ordinate and implement the physiotherapy service
  • Provide physiotherapy assessment and treatment to patients aimed at
    • Maximizing sensory and motor function recovery and
    • Preventing secondary complications and health issues
  • In consultation with Physiatrist, initiate and develop appropriate team protocols, policies and education modules
  • Help the patient to reintegrate with society

To apply, send your updated CV to: hr@palliumindia.live-website.com

In case of queries, please call: 97467 45501
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Job vacancies for palliative care physician and nurse at Tata Trust Hospitals

Palliative care Physician, full time consultant

Location: Bhubaneswar, Chandrapur, Mangalore, Jamshedpur, Allahabad

Total Positions: 5

Reporting Manager: Head- Palliative Care, Tata Trusts, Cancer Care Programme

Click here for complete job description

Palliative care Nurse, full time

Location: Bhubaneswar, Tirupati, Mangalore, Allahabad, Jamshedpur, Chandrapur

Total Positions: 12

Reporting Manager: Head Nursing, Tata Trusts Cancer Care Programme

Click here for complete job description

Interested candidates may send their resume with the title mentioned in the job role to: anilkumar@tatatrusts.org / rrahul@tatatrusts.org

Contact Number – 9819901229; 7208105900

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1 Year Clinical Fellowship in Pediatric Palliative Medicine at MNJIORCC, Hyderabad

Offered jointly by MNJ Institute of Oncology and RCC and Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, this one-year integrated international pediatric palliative care fellowship program aims to increase access to palliative care for children in India.

Eligibility

The candidate should have a M.B.B.S degree with permanent registration with Medical Council of India and MD or post graduate diploma in clinical specialty. Preference will be given for post graduate qualification in pediatrics.

How to Apply:

Click here to download the prospectus and application form. Complete it and send it to mnj.palliative@gmail.com

Contact

Course coordinator, Department of Palliative care, MNJIO, Redhills, Hyderabad-500004

Email: mnj.palliative@gmail.com

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National Cancer Grid

Kudos to Dr Pramesh (oncosurgeon, Tata Memorial Hospital – TMH, Mumbai) and team for reviving the National Cancer Grid (NCG) and for making it an efficient, influential and compassionate body improving outcome for people with cancer and for their families.

In the NCG Research and Guideline development meeting held on 26, 27 September 2019 at TMH, Mumbai, NCG made renewed commitment to palliative care. The palliative care group also completed a questionnaire to conduct preliminary evaluation of Serious Health-Related suffering on every patient who approaches any cancer-treating institution.

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A day to remember – Snehasparsham

Vyshnavi V K, Project Officer, Pallium India, writes:

A group of children, with a variety of expressions flitting across their faces:

Some are talking excitedly to their friends. Some are not sure what is happening. A few hold their parents’ hands firmly and wish to sit only next to them. Others are curiously checking their new green Pallium India T–shirts.

It was the morning of ‘Snehasparsham 2019’, a one-day get-together for the children of our patients, held at Mar Baselios college Trivandrum on 14th September 2019. The program was organized for ‘Unarvu’ (a support group of bereaved families) and ‘Kuttikkootam’ (Kids’ Collective comprising our patients’ children whose education is supported by Pallium India).

We decided to start with an ice-breaking activity for the group. As a project officer I rarely have an opportunity to interact with these kids. This was the first time I was meeting the two children’s support groups of Pallium India in a single platform. I tried to engage the children and their families by encouraging them to join in the singing and dancing, and to pep them up for what was to follow.

Is palliative care is meant only to patients who are suffering? What about their family members, especially children? We found our answers on this day.

Both these groups, managed by the volunteers of Pallium India, provide the children with a platform to display their skills, interact with their mentors to convey their problems or needs, seek advice on career opportunities, and much more, as well as having a great time with lots of fun and frolic, something that they miss in their daily lives.

It was such a delight to see one of our alumni members come with her two-month-old baby. Her husband sang a melodious song. The presence of twin sisters who have recently graduated with a B.Com degree was another source of happiness. Unfortunately, due to financial distress in the family, they had to take up a job with a gas agency on daily wages.

There was also a multi-talented alumni member Mr.Vyshakh, employed in an overseas education consultancy, who is keen on acting and has done a few short films; he is also a good photographer. The presence of alumni members who are currently pursuing higher education or are employed was truly heartwarming. Even though there are hundreds of alumni members who are part of the Pallium family, only a few could make it to this event.

PMI (Project Management Institute) team who have been supporting our children’s education program conducted an interactive session with the children’s group, especially with alumni members. The alumni group discussed their future plans and concerns with the PMI team who advised them appropriately that helped boost their confidence. Responding to Pallium India’s request, PMI has agreed to guide the alumni suitably so as to make them more competitive and employable, and to help them with better opportunities.

Besides games conducted for the students, there was a very valuable and captivating address to the students by Mr.Venu Kumaran Nair. He gave them tips to excel in their studies and the value systems that they need to inculcate to be successful in life.

Volunteers of Pallium India who were mentors to these children reviewed their progress and assessed them while interacting with them and their parents. Student palliative care and charity group of Mar Baselios college supported the event by providing their spacious auditorium free of cost and with active participation by their student volunteers. 250 people including family members of children attended the one day get together.

This event has prompted us to improvise our educational support services and focus on the needs of our alumni as well with the help of our existing support systems and new ones as we go along. The day concluded with a cake cutting ceremony to celebrate the birthday of one of our meritorious students, Shaheed. We are truly proud of these children who have brought about a positive change in the lives of their families.

Snehasparsham 2019 will remain etched in the lives of these children and all who participated, to be cherished for many more years.

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Dr Roop Gursahani on Compassionate Caring

Caregiver Saathi

Dr Roop Gursahani is one of the really good things that has happened to our country. The epitome of compassion, he combines his neurology practice with humanity, and keeps advocating for rational clinical practices with his neurology practice and is a very effective advocate for rational and humane end of life care.

Please listen to him in this video shared by Bhavana Issar of Caregiver Saathi.

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Sustainable step: Thiruvananthapuram observes car-free day for first time

The New Indian Express

At the crack of dawn on Sunday, Manaveeyam Veedhi at Trivandrum was swarmed by cyclists. More than 100 cyclists congregated in the cultural corridor and rode the bicycles though the city. On World Car Free Day, the city cyclists and the corporation put forth a new message of environmental sustainability by celebrating cycling.

Read more: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/thiruvananthapuram/2019/sep/23/sustainable-step-thiruvananthapuram-observes-car-free-day-for-first-time-2037569.html

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Sometimes Treating Pain Is As Important As Treating Disease

Jonathan Cohn, HuffPost US

People who get palliative care are more likely to stay productive, whether at work or at home, and they are less likely to end up in the emergency room. That can show up as tangible, quantifiable savings for whoever is paying medical bills: In one 2016 peer-reviewed study, researchers found savings of thousands of dollars a month, producing a positive return on investment of 4.2% to 6.6%.

Read more: https://www.huffingtonpost.in/entry/palliative-care-policy_n_5d4da5c4e4b0820e0af51284 

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‘This is the kind of training we wanted’

‘This is the kind of training we wanted. We never had this much of exposure in a huge set up like GMCH. Thank you Pallium India for introducing us to palliative care.’

‘Got to learn many new things. Enjoyed the training.’

In the process of developing palliative care in Haryana, Pallium India, with support from Directorate of Health & Family Welfare, conducted a 10-day Foundation Course in Pain and Palliative Medicine from 2nd Sept to 11th Sept 2019 at State Institute of Health and Family Welfare, Punchkula.

The course was attended by Medical Officers and Staff Nurses from every district of Haryana. As Palliative Care is an emerging concept and is also need of the hour, especially since Haryana has the highest number of cancer cases in India, this course has been designed keeping in mind the objective to enable participants to gain not only theoretical knowledge but also to get hands-on training in dealing with palliative care patients while focussing on management of pain and communication.

By the end of the course, the participants were able to learn the importance of palliative care including administration of opioids for medical purpose. We hope that they would incorporate this knowledge in their practice at every district of Haryana where at the moment, Palliative Care services are only confined to PGIMER and GMCH in the union capital territory of Chandigarh.

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Video of the Month: 

Thinking Beyond Physical Pain

The purpose of pain management is not just the treatment of pain. There is much more to it. Dr Rajagopal explains.

Watch the video: https://youtu.be/LmYmcPbFrc8

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Chairman of Pallium India, Dr Rajagopal, was honored at the 6th anniversary celebrations of Pallium Kulasekharam on September 19, 2019.

Oruma recreation club, Parassala, gave its annual award to the chairman of Pallium India. Receiving the award, Dr Rajagopal said that the purse of Rs. 25,000 will go towards the care of patients and families of Pallium India.

Dr Raghavendra, who heads palliative care at Cytecare received the ESMO  award from Sir Declan Walsh, a pioneer in Palliative Medicine and the author of one of the best written books in Palliative Medicine.

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Till death do us part

Sonali Mantoo, The Hindu

Death. Mortality. End of life. Something inevitable, yet rarely discussed and a source of intense discomfort for most. When mentioned, it is considered inauspicious and rude in many cultures. And yet, death is an integral part of the work day for a critical-care physician like me. But it was never a topic of discussion in medical school or training.

Read more: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/open-page/till-death-do-us-part/article29418387.ece

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Donate to Pallium India

The money you give will pay for essential free medicines for the poor, for their travel to the clinic or for schooling of their children, or other forms of care.

Please give whatever you can. No amount is too small.

To donate, please visit:

https://palliumindia.org/donate/ (India)

http://palliumindiausa.org/ (USA)

Write to us: info@palliumindia.live-website.com

Call us: +91-9746745497 (India) / +1-718-273-8597 (USA)

All donations to Pallium India are tax deductible.

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Upcoming Events

Have Queries? Write to: info@palliumindia.live-website.com.

Find out more about our courses at: https://palliumindia.org/courses/

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Join Our Facebook Page

Pallium India’s Facebook page has over 9000 likes.

We regularly post articles related to palliative care from around the world.

Click here to Like our page!

We’re also on Twitter: @palliumindia and Instagram: palliumindia

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PARTING SHOT

A life changing experience

Aleya Philip, a student from Chennai who volunteered with Pallium India for a week, writes:

The short time I spent at Pallium was definitely a reality check and a memory I will never forget. Coming from a relatively privileged family, I had never seen such heart ache and trauma. Initially my mother was hesitant to send me, saying, ‘Aly, it might be too much for you to take in at such a young age’, but I was adamant. I did not even know what Palliative care was until I did my research and learnt about it. I was honored that I got this opportunity to help and ease one’s pain, but I did much more than that.

It was a proper 9-5 job. I did all kinds of work, from helping with administrative tasks to attending ECHO meetings with pioneers in the field. I also met with Miss Devi Vijay who was conducting research on the ‘Kerala Model’ of palliative care. My day started at 6:30 AM as we had to catch the bus at 7:45/8:00 AM. After I got off the bus I would go for breakfast and then rush to the office and go for morning rounds with the doctor, nurse and psychiatrist. Then it was either a home visit or a meeting, sometimes even a hospital visit.

I was at Pallium for 5 days. In this short time, I learnt so much. On 3 days I went for home visits. Those are of two types: rural and urban. I went for two rural visits and one urban visit. The rural visit peaked my interest a lot more as they were places with no proper road access, and involved providing aid to people who are unable to come to the center to avail services.

One day I went to a Government Children’s hospital, where the team and I assessed cases and provided the family with a course of action, be it further treatment, surgery, physiotherapy and so on. The social workers also updated the family’s social report and child’s progress and his/her understanding of the issue at hand. I also read some horrific stories from the social report files which I only thought existed in movies but happened in reality.

On the last day at Pallium I was asked to teach a little boy how to read time in roman numerals. Initially this appeared to be a daunting task as he did not know English and I did not know Malayalam. But with patience and compassion I figured it would not be so hard. I started with teaching him how to draw a clock and showed him which hand meant what. After I ran around the office trying to learn basic numbers in Malayalam, I told him in my broken, half-baked Tamil mixed with Malayalam what I meant. To my shock, he instantly understood. I repeated the same with roman numerals and then to make the task more fun we drew more clocks with colours and I asked him questions about what time I had drawn.

After all this was done I had a reflective conversation on my learnings. This really taught me how much of our country has limited access to avail basic medicines and treatments. I suggested a few things that I thought may make a change in the patient’s life. One of them was to paint the walls of the room the patient was in and change the lights. This is a small thing but I felt like that could really brighten up their life.

I would like to conclude by saying this opportunity was a life changing one and it really opened my eyes to the real world. I would like to thank Ms. Smriti Rana, Ms. Shriya Singh and the whole Pallium team who made my stay and work place warm and welcoming.

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