WHO course on palliative care begins

ritsar, May 22

A four-day foundation course in palliative medicine for doctors and nurses, being organised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in association with Sri Guru Ram Das (SGRD) University of Health Sciences, began here on Wednesday.

Dr Suresh Kumar, Director, WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Participation in Palliative Care and Long Term Care, and Technical Advisor, Institute of Palliative Medicine, inaugurated the conference. Dr Kulwant Singh Ded, VC, SGRD University, was the guest of honor.

Dr Suresh Kumar said palliative care, a relatively new sub-specialty in medicine, focuses on improving the quality of life for patients and their families. “Its ethos is based on the understanding that treating patients doesn’t mean just treating their disease. It means treating the patient as a whole and providing physical, psychosocial and spiritual support to alleviate pain and suffering,” he said. He added that gaining a deeper understanding of what patients are experiencing through palliative care also plays an important role in clinical care. Dr Anil Kumar Paleri, Clinical Director, Institute of Palliative Medicine, and Chandar Lekha, CEO, Institute of Palliative Medicine, also talked in details about the importance of palliative medicine in health care sciences. — TNS