22/06/2021
“As a health worker, be it a doctor, nurse or any paramedic, we mainly focus on the medical management aiming to cure the disease, not accepting the fact that all diseases are not curable. In that process, we tend to forget other issues like emotional, social, psychological and spiritual impact of the disease. This, to some extent, is because the concept of palliative care in the real sense is not taught and was not felt important, and the dignity of a dying person was not considered vital.
So many times it becomes challenging to manage the patient as well as their family because we miss addressing their non-medical issues as we are not tuned to that. As a result we fail to treat efficiently in spite of having good medical knowledge. And we wonder: where have we gone wrong?
In 2018, I got an opportunity to get trained in Palliative Care at Karunashraya Hospice of Banglore. That’s when I came to know how important it is to have good communication skills and the holistic approach in dealing with the patient’s chronic and non-curable illness, to avoid conflicts with them as well as feeling hopeless at the end of the treatment. By giving a complete palliative care we not only make them comfortable but also help them prepare for their death journey.
Cases of advance cancers, Kidney, Heart and Liver failures and many other chronic and incurable diseases are increasing day by day but the concept of Palliative care has not come into much practice: but people need to know about it because this needs a team work comprising medical, paramedical, social workers and volunteers from the community.
One of the best concepts of palliative care is giving the dying person dignity and respect, and helping to prepare them for a respectful, peaceful and satisfied journey towards Death.”
- Dr.Sangita S***a, Consultant Medicine in a Govt District Hospital in South Sikkim.