Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative Care Centre organises IAPC’s volunteer training certificate course programme on palliative care

In India, 57 lakh people require palliative care but only 1-2 per cent of people are able to access palliative care

Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative Care Centre, in association with the Indian Association of Palliative Care organised a first-of-its-kind two-day training course in palliative care for volunteers from November 12-13. The weekend programme received an overwhelming response with 60 people participating to be volunteers for the noble cause.

The event was inaugurated by lamp lighting and all the esteemed faculties from reputed hospitals of Delhi/NCR were invited. They shared their experiences in palliative care and valuable knowledge with the participants to understand the depth and requirements of palliative care in the country. Dr KV Ganpathy, head of psychology at Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai participated in the event to encourage the volunteers for the betterment of society. Dr. Amit Jain, Head- Pain and Palliative Care Specialist was the course coordinator for Dharamshila Rahat and he actively conducted the 2-day volunteer training programme.

The welcome address on Day 1 was delivered by Dr S Khanna, Director, Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative care centre. On day 2 interesting topics like spiritual issues in palliative care, the role of a medical social worker, addressing social issues and rehabilitation, ethical issues, pain management and others were discussed.

Commenting about the training and requirement of palliative care in the country, Dr S Khanna, Director, Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative care centre said “The palliative care volunteer training certificate course will train people to actively participate and support any patient suffering from chronic serious illness. In India, 57 lakh people require palliative care but only 1-2 per cent of people are able to access palliative care. We are well aware that patients with serious diseases are in utmost need of palliative care but the facilities are not available. To fulfil this gap between the need and supply, Dharamshila Cancer Foundation and Research Centre has commissioned North India’s first stand alone, multidisciplinary, holistic, Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative Care Centre recently.

Anyone who was willing to spend their time on social welfare and had the urge to serve humanity was eligible to participate in the training programme. They received hands-on experience at Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative Care Centre and gained a lot of knowledge from well-versed faculty in the country.

Dr Sushma Bhatnagar, President, Indian Association of Palliative Care said “Palliative care has been in our very system for ages but these days people prefer shortcuts and ignore the long-term impact of any acute or chronic condition. Almost 57″per cent of people who suffer from various diseases need palliative care, which adds years to life without excruciating pain. It is great to align with Dharamshila Rahat Supportive and Palliative Care Centre, an organisation that works 24/7 with a holistic approach to help. It is astonishing to know about their proficiency and staff. The centre has palliative care specialists & nurses, rehabilitation experts, psychiatrists and de-addiction specialists and an occupancy of 37 beds.”