Announcements / Messages from IAPC

IAPC’s Infographic of the month

The December Infographic focuses on the concept of ‘Multidisciplinary Team in Palliative Care’.

This initiative reflects the IAPC’s constant endeavour to promote palliative care education and awareness across the country. 

Please feel free to share this infographic within your networks. The same will be available on our social media platforms and also on our website. Please click here to access the same.

We thank Dr Wasimul Hoda (Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia, RIMS, Ranchi) for his enthusiasm and constant support towards this initiative.

‘Dear Dr Subathra, May your soul rest in peace…’

We are deeply saddened by the demise of Dr Subathra Muthukumaran, our friend and colleague. Dr Subathra left this world on 28th November 2023. Dr. Mallika Tiruvadanan (Managing Trustee and Palliative Care Physician, Lakshmi Pain and Palliative Care Trust, Chennai) remembers her dear friend and colleague Dr Subathra Muthukumaran in the following note:

“Dr. Subathra Muthukumaran was a compassionate and competent Palliative Care Physician. She started her work at Lakshmi Pain and Palliative Care Trust as a Trustee and Consultant in 2006 until she left in 2019. During this period, she has contributed immensely towards achieving the goals of the trust which were mainly keenness in providing quality palliative care and educating various health care professionals. She was meticulous in her clinical work and undertook some major aspects of the work of the Trust.

As a faculty for the Indian Association of Palliative Care, she took part in the trainings for professionals from 2008.

Right from inception, she has joined hands with me to be a spokesperson at the government level, and for the development of Palliative Care in Tamil Nadu state. It was with her help and commitment that we as a Trust were able to achieve much, including the SOP for Oral Morphine Availability, the first of its kind in the country.

She initiated student activities in palliative care, with the involvement of students from Ethiraj College, and organised regular training programs in palliative care for MSW students, which is happening till date. She was instrumental in generating funds for the trust on a regular basis.

Last few years she had offered her services at Golden Butterflies, an NGO providing paediatric palliative care service in Chennai. She continued to refer patients to our Trust even till recently.

Dr. Subathra was born on 19th March 1963. She had completed her MBBS in 1986 and MD Anaesthesia in 1997, from University of Madras. She completed her Certificate Course in Pain and Palliative Medicine from Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences, Kochi after which she did her Graduate Certificate in Health (Palliative Medicine) in 2010. She spent a few days during the ‘multi-professional week’ program at St. Christopher’s Hospice, London, in 2008.

Subathra was always a simple, pleasant and a cheerful person, gentle and caring, friendly and helpful. She was an asset to our Trust and to our Palliative Care Community. She left this world on 28th November 2023. She is survived by her husband, Dr. Muthukumaran, daughter, Ms. Krithika, a brother and parents. Her loss is a personal loss for me and I am sure for the palliative care community too.”

– Dr Mallika Tiruvadanan, Chennai

IAPC’s Election notification: Don’t Forget to Submit Your Nomination by 15th December 2023

The In-person elections for the office bearers of IAPC will be held on Saturday, 10th February, 2024, during IAPCON 2024.

Elections in 2024 will be held for the following posts:

  • President, IAPC (2025 – 2028)
  • Central Council Members (2024 – 2026)
    • North Zone (2 members)
    • North – East Zone (2 members)
    • East Zone (2 members)
    • South Zone (2 members)
    • West Zone (1 vacancy for one year [2024 – 2026])

Please note the Important dates for the upcoming IAPC Elections:

  • Last date to submit online nomination: 15th December, 2023
  • Last date to withdraw nomination: 20th January, 2024
  • In-person election date (If needed): 10th February, 2024

Interested candidates are requested to email the scanned copy of the signed and completed nomination and CV form to the Secretary, IAPC, at iapcelections@gmail.com before 5 p.m. on 15th December, 2023. Nominations submitted to any other email address will not be accepted.

Please note that Applicants must use one form for one nomination.

Please click here to download the nomination and CV form here. 

In case of any queries, please write to the IAPC’s secretariat at nioiapc@gmail.com or assistant.nio.iapc@gmail.com. 

Notice of Annual General Body Meeting of Indian Association of Palliative Care

Notice is here by given that the Annual General Body Meeting of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC), will be held on Saturday, 10th February 2024 during the IAPCON 2024, at Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad, Gujarat. Hall number and time for the meeting will be announced later.

IAPC requests all Life Members of IAPC to participate in the Annual General Body Meeting.

IAPC’s Central Council Meeting held at AIIMS, New Delhi on 25th & 26th November 2023

The in- person Central Council Meeting of Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPC)was held at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi on Saturday,  25th& Sunday,  26th November 2023. The current programs run by IAPC and Academy of Palliative Medicine (APM – a constituent unit of Indian Association of Palliative Care) were reviewed by the Central Council. Discussions were held on possible future programs.

Following important decisions have been taken in the meeting:

  • Central Council unanimously approved the suggestion to launch IAPC’s Gold Medal Examination for Nurses, to create awareness about palliative care among young nurses in India. The winner will be selected through a National Level Examination conducted for nurses. The winner will be awarded with a Medal, a cash prize of Rs. 25,000/-, and a citation.
  • Central Council unanimously approved the suggestion to launch IAPC’s Award for Excellence for organisational members of IAPC. The Award will include a Citation and Cash Award of Rs. 10, 000/-.
  • Both these awards will be presented during IAPCON, from the year 2025.
  • Committees are formed to develop and design new programs in different areas.
  • Details will be presented in the next Annual General Body Meeting (which will be held at Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad, on 10th February 2024, during IAPCON 2024) for approval.

IAPCON 2024 Update: PalliActive Quiz: Let the Game begin!!!!

Any registered participant of the 31st Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2024) is eligible to participate in Quiz, and creative poster competition.

The Quiz competition will be held on Day 1 of IAPCON 2024, Friday, 9th February 2024. There will be two rounds: Elimination round and Final round.  To participate in the quiz, delegates have to complete spot registration on Day 1, before 10 a.m. at the conference venue. The coordinator of the Quiz Program Dr Lekha Raval welcomes all Palliative Medicine Post Graduate students and senior residents to participate in the quiz competition.

To participate in the Creative Poster Competition good quality (2 to 5 MB) photograph(s) of Handmade posters; OR digitally made posters, revolving around the theme ‘Revisiting the domains of Palliative Care’ to be submitted. The file submitted should be in either JPEG / JPG / PNG format and a maximum of 2 submissions per individual is allowed.

Please note that the poster creator’s name or any other identifier is not mentioned on the poster. Any poster with an identifier will be disqualified. These works of creative art will be judged by a panel of judges based on creativity, novelty, and adherence and their decision will be final.

Get your creative hats on and submit your work of creative posters before Saturday, 20th January, 2024, to try your chance and win attractive prizes.

For queries related to the poster competition, please email Dr Wasim Hoda at wasu077@gmail.com.

The 2.5 day in-person conference will be held at the Auditorium, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, between Friday, 9th February, 2024, and Sunday, 11th February, 2024. The Pre-conference workshops are slated for Thursday, 8th February, 2024.

IAPCON 2024 is themed ‘Revisiting the domains of Palliative Care’, as it aims to enhance the delegates’ practise of palliative care by empowering them with the various aspects in Palliative Care for both cancer and non-cancer patients. Scientific Sessions therefore will include sessions on Oncology, Neurology, Cardiology, Respiratory Medicine, Nephrology, Geriatric Care etc. Sessions will also include the nursing care plans, role of psychologist, volunteers, NGOs in providing palliative care, along with presentations on research methodology and scientific paper presentations.

Please visit the conference website for further information and to register for IAPCON 2024. For any general query related to IAPCON 2024: +91 9824021999 / iapcon2024@gmail.com.

Update from SMA Nirvana’s National multilingual edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ held on 24th November, 2023

The November edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ was held on Friday, 24th November, 2023.

The evening was presented by Ms Gayitri Bose (Singer, Performing Artist and Music Educator) who sang Hindi and Bangla songs, which kept everyone enthralled. Along with our stars in palliative care, doctors, nurses, volunteers, other staff members and carers joined the program from different places and from different institutions across India.

Team IAPC and Team SMA Nirvana take this opportunity to extend our gratitude to all those who joined us and for spreading smiles during the show.

Leverage the IAPC’s Social Media to stay connected!

The IAPC is inviting each of you to join the IAPC’s Social Media community to network and stay connected with the palliative care community, from India and beyond!

To get started, Follow / Like us on:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/palliativecare.in

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iapc-1994/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/iapcsecretary

The IAPC’s Careers page has been updated to reflect new vacancies from across the country

We invite you to visit the IAPC’s ‘View job vacancy’ page to view the recently updated vacancies in palliative care from across the country.

We request you to please also join us to improve the availability and access to palliative care by either sharing the details of vacancies at your center or by sharing the details of this platform with your colleagues to submit a vacancy from centers rendering palliative care services.

Call for Support: Your 2 minutes = Someone’s entire lifetime of Peace, Comfort and Dignity!

The IAPC requests you to spare just two minutes of your valuable time to submit / update the details of your palliative care services in the IAPC’s National Palliative Care Directory.

Steps to show your support:

  1. Please visit the IAPC’s National Palliative Care Directory and select the State from the drop down menu to check details of your center.
  2. If you need to add / update details of your center, then please visit the Submit/Update details of your PC center page on the IAPC website and submit the relevant details.
  3. After entering the relevant details, please click the ‘Submit’ button to record your responses.

Please do remember that your two minutes will make an invaluable difference in someone’s entire lifetime, as patients and caregivers, along with your colleagues will then have access to palliative care services when they need it the most!

Come on, donate your time to be a bridge in alleviating the suffering of our patients from across the country. Let no one be left behind!

Please click here for guidance on how to update your details.

‘Saath Saath Helpline’: India’s free palliative care helpline

Saath-Saath Helpline: 1800-202-7777, is the first of its kind National, Free-of-cost Palliative care helpline. The helpline offers non-judgmental listening services to palliative patients and their caregivers, or to a patient’s physician, and connects them to the nearest palliative care center.

The helpline has 26 partner organisations working across 17 States and Union territories viz; Maharashtra, Delhi, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Orissa, Punjab, Haryana, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Goa, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Kashmir and West Bengal. Volunteers from Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) and Cipla Palliative Care and Training Centre (CPC) attend the calls in four shifts to either provide information, offer Psycho-emotional support or to refer the caller to a partner organisation.

The helpline provides service through call-in on a phone line and works 6 days a week (Mon-Sat), 10 am to 6 pm.

You can offer your support by informing patients about this helpline and refer those who are in need of such services.