Palliative Care is a specialised medical care for people suffering from incurable, chronic, progressive and life limiting diseases.

Palliative Care includes care of the patients as well as their families. Its main objective is to provide relief from pain and other physical symptoms in addition to psychological, spiritual, social, and financial distress, culminating in improving the quality of life which may also positively influence the course of illness.It intends to give patients a relatively pain free, comfortable, self reliant, productive and dignified life. It starts from the diagnosis and continues even after the death i.e. death and bereavement counselling of family members to overcome the loss of loved one. Patients may require palliative care from weeks to months to years. This depends on the organ involved, stage and grade of the disease, any other associated disease and attitude of the patient.

CHALLENGES IN PALLIATIVE CARE

• Due to rising life expectancy and increasing ageing population, incidence of cancer, organ failures(heart, lungs, liver, kidney) and other chronic progressive, life threatening diseases is raising.
• Every year, about 40 million people (worldwide) need palliative care, out of these 78% of them live in low-middle income countries.
• No Govt. Funding for Palliative Care centres.
• Kerala and Maharashtra are the first states to make a policy on Palliative Care, but despite strong advocacy with Delhi & Central Government for decades, India has failed to finalise a separate policy on Palliative Care.
• Poor awareness about Palliative Care in the society.
• Very few dedicated Palliative Care Units in Hospitals of North India.
• People, who have no access to Palliative Care, are leading a painful and miserable, life even after spending lakhs & lakhs.
• Private sector not inclined to invest in Palliative Care Centres because they are not financially viable.

WAY FORWARD

• Govt. of India has to finalise the policy on Palliative Care and make Palliative Care Services available in all district hospitals and Primary Health Care Centres.
• NGO’s have to come forward to start dedicated Palliative Care Centres, ensuring integration of Palliative Care with oncology, Cardiology, Pulmonology, Nephrology and Neurology etc. 
• Increasing awareness about availability and advantages of Palliative Care.

ROLE OF DHARAMSHILA CANCER FOUNDATION AND RESEARCH CENTRE (DCFRC) IN PALLIATIVE CARE

• DCFRC is trying its best with Delhi Govt. and Central Govt. to finalise the Policy on Palliative Care since 2017.
• Increasing awareness about Palliative Care by Organising Webinars with Educational Institution, NGOs, Public Sector Companies and others.
• Opening Dedicated Palliative Care Centre 1.5 km from Dharamshila Narayana Superspeciality Hospital to address the pressing need of comprehensive multidisciplinary Palliative Care for patients of North India.
• Integrating palliative care with all other specialities and super specialities.
• Training nursing aids for providing palliative care at hospitals as well as at home settings.
• Planning to start DNB Programme in Palliative care, soon.