Palliative Care in Peace and Humanitarian Crises – Ms. Joan Marston, South Africa On the 16th of May the world commemorated the International Day of Living Together in Peace. Sadly, for many, peace is just a pipe-dream. According to the Global Humanitarian Overview of April 2022, there are 303 million people needing humanitarian assistance with…
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Who Can Afford a Good Death? – Dr. Dhvani Mehta, New Delhi Lata Mangeshkar, a beloved national icon, passed away recently in an intensive care unit at a tertiary care hospital in Mumbai. She had spent nearly a month in the hospital, and just before she died, was on a life-support machine that is ubiquitous…
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It’s all in the family – Dr. Santosh K. Chaturvedi, UK The role of family is very important in the causation, course, maintenance, as well as in the overall management of any medical or health condition. Family is a natural social defence. Numerous family traditions become inherent cultural defences. Thus, family and family’s activities have…
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Rights, Relief and the Road ahead – Ms. Smriti Rana, Trivandrum December 10th was celebrated as World Human Rights Day. The word “celebrate” does not roll easily off the tongue, or on to this page. Celebration indicates happiness at achieving a goal, a milestone. Perhaps in the context of palliative care, it is better viewed…
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Palliative Care and the fundamental right to die with dignity – Mr. Rishabh Shrivastava and Dr. Anant Bhan, Bhopal The Indian Constitution guarantees the right to life under Article 21. Over a period of time, the jurisprudence around Article 21 has undergone significant transformation. One of the crucial facets of the right to life is…
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Charter of Patients’ Rights for adoption by NHRC Patients’ rights are Human rights! Preamble The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (1948) emphasizes the fundamental dignity and equality of all human beings. Based on this concept, the notion of Patient Rights has been developed across the globe in the last few decades. There is a growing…
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Implementation of Supreme Court Judgment on Advance Medical Directives In keeping with the right to Privacy the Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment for patients facing terminal illness. Such patients and their families are often subjected to unwanted medical interventions that serve only to render the dying process agonizing. Medical ethics and standards in…
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Right to Life includes right to Die On Friday, March 9th 2018, the Supreme Court of India legalises passive Euthanasia and living will, and lays down a set of strict guidelines to prevent abuse. The verdict was given so that those terminally ill patients who are in Persistent and incurable Vegetative State (PVS) can opt…
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Dr M.R. Rajagopal, Chairman of Pallium India and tireless champion of the rights of palliative care patients in India, has been awarded Human Rights Watch’s Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism. Dr Rajagopal received this award in recognition of more than 20 years spent fighting conditions that cause patients to suffer severe pain unnecessarily.…
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