In the first-ever partnership of its kind, the specialities of critical care and palliative care joined hands on the occasion of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, 2014 and vowed to work together for excellence in end-of-life care.
“Together we choose”, the joint campaign of IAPC and the Indian Society of Critical Care Medicine (ISCCM) augurs well for the global movement to return control of a good death to the person to whom it matters most—the patient.
At a conference in New Delhi, experts from both fields averred that end-of-life care was different from euthanasia.
Addressing the media, Dr R S Mani, former president of ISCCM and the Director, Critical Care, at Saket City Hospital said: “We are mortals. Death is in our midst and we have to know when to stop or withdraw life support or choose not to do any further aggressive treatment.”
Dr Nagesh Simha pointed out that the palliative care team should start working with critical care doctors from an early stage when the patient had a life-limiting illness or was likely to deteriorate to the end-stage.
The two organisations have jointly developed a position paper, guidelines for end-of-life care and implementation norms and are working with a legal team to develop a policy and definitions.
Read the joint guidelines on end-of-life care.
Read IAPC’s consensus position statement on end-of-life care.