Announcements / Messages from IAPC

IAPC’s Infographic of the month

The IAPC in its constant endeavour to promote palliative care education and awareness across the country is pleased to launch a new initiative, the ‘Infographic of the month’.

This new concept was conceived and will continue to be supported by Dr Wasimul Hoda (Assistant Professor, Department of Anesthesia, RIMS, Ranchi).

These infographics will focus on a different topic each month and will look at both simple and complex topics in palliative care. The first of such infographics focuses on not only highlighting the role of our dear nurses in provisioning quality palliative care, but to also express our gratitude to them for all that they do.

Please click on the image at left to download and share this infographic within your networks. The same will be available on our social media platforms and also on our website.

The IAPC and the IAPSM sign an MoU to build capacity to provide primary palliative care in the community

The IAPC and the Indian Association of Preventive and Social Medicine (IAPSM) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in April, 2023, to build the capacity of professionals practicing preventive and social medicine (PSM) across the country to provide primary palliative care in the community.

Members of the IAPSM, and are currently working as physicians in National and State Government Health Departments, Medical Colleges, Other health care institutes, National and International developmental agencies, NGOs etc., and are also involved in policy development, implementation of National Health Plans and in providing care in both rural and urban settings.

As per the MoU, the IAPC will design and provide technical support and faculty for training, while the IAPSM will organise the training for their members, faculty of PSM, interns and students posted in PSM during training, to empower these professional to take primary palliative care to patients needing palliative care at the grassroot levels of this country; an area where it is needed the most.

The capacity building exercise will be implemented in a phased manner to cover all PSM professionals teaching in medical colleges and those practicing preventive and social medicine across the country.  

Do watch this space for further updates on this.

IAPCON 2024 Update: Last date to submit proposals to conduct pre conference workshops extended to 30th June, 2023

On behalf of the organising team, the Pre-conference chair, Dr Dinesh Kumar, has extended the last date to submit proposals to conduct pre conference workshops during the 31st Annual International Conference of the Indian Association of Palliative Care (IAPCON 2024) to Friday, 30th June, 2023.  

These Pre-conference workshops are slated for Thursday, 8th February, 2024, while the main conference is scheduled to be held at the Auditorium, Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, between Friday, 9th February, 2024, and Sunday, 11th February, 2024.

Those interested to submit proposals to conduct pre conference workshops during IAPCON 2024 and facilitate the growth of palliative care across the country are requested to email the same to iapcon2024workshops@gmail.com in the pre-specified template before Friday, 30th June, 2023.

Please note that the proposal is to be prepared as per the below format.

  1. Theme of the Workshop
  2. Short justification for the choice of the topic (100 words)
  3. Sub-Topics
  4. Key Learning Objectives
  5. Target Audience
  6. Faculty (Name, Designation, Place of work, Mobile & Email ID)
  7. Duration of Workshop
  8. Anticipated participants’ numbers
  9. Technical assistance required

Submit your proposal before Friday, 30th June, 2023, to conduct pre-conference workshops and share your knowledge and expertise with the world.

Please visit the conference website for further information and to register for IAPCON 2024.

The NHM renames the NPCDCS to NP-NCD, from 3rd May, 2023

The National Health Mission (NHM), Government of India, has renamed its National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases (CVDs) and Stroke (NPCDCS) to the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), from Wednesday, 3rd May, 2023.

This program is currently being implemented across the country by the NHM to address the ever growing challenges of Non Communicable Diseases (NCD). We understand that this move has been undertaken to increase the scope of the program to include various NCDs under the program beyond just cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke.

The National Program for Palliative Care (NPPC) is currently funded by the NCD’s flexi-pool. While several people welcome and applaud this move, only time will tell of its impact on actual program implementation.

The WHPCA announces this year’s logo for World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

We are excited to share that the Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA) has launched this year’s logo for the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (WHPCD).

The WHPCD is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world. The WHPCD this year will be observed on Saturday, 14th October, 2023, with the theme: Compassionate Communities: Together for Palliative Care.

Howard Kinyua (Communications Manager, WHPCA) shares that the WHPCA team is currently working on the ‘WHPCD 2023 Toolkit’ which will be launched shortly. Once launched the toolkit will be rich in resources, which can also be downloaded.

Keep watching this space for information on this.

Please click here for further details about this year’s WHPCD Theme.

The ICPCN announces the date for this year’s ‘Hats on for Children’s Palliative Care’ campaign: 13th October, 2023

The International Children’s Palliative Care Network (ICPCN) has announced that the ‘Hats on for Children’s Palliative Care’ campaign for this year will be observed on Friday, 13th October, 2023.

The day aims towards raising international awareness of the need for children’s palliative care and the work of Children’s Palliative Care (CPC) services worldwide.

The team from ICPCN shares, “This year marks a special anniversary of the Hats On for Children’s Palliative Care Campaign. We will be celebrating ten years and this has been made possible by the continuous support and advocacy efforts made by members, partners, and advocates for paediatric palliative care.”

The ‘Hats on 4 CPC 2023 toolkit’ will be launched shortly and will include resources for download and which can be customised for local, regional and international campaigns. The toolkit will also help in planning events, along with social media and other campaigns.

Do click here for further information about this.

Join us for the IAPC and SMA Nirvana’s National multilingual edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ at 3:50 p.m. on 14th June, 2023

The IAPC and the Shankar Mahadevan Academy Nirvana (SMA Nirvana) invite you to join us at 3:50 p.m. on Wednesday, 14th June, 2023, for a national multilingual edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’.

This edition of musical evening of harmonies is dedicated to our friends from across the country.

The evening of harmonies will be presented by Mr Gagan Gaonkar (Vocalist and Performing Artist). Mr Gaonkar will be presenting songs in Kannada and Hindi.

Update from the May event

The May edition of ‘Singing for the Stars’ was a national edition dedicated to our friends from across the country. This concert and edition was presented by Ms Himangi Vishwaroop (Singer, Performing artist, Music Composer and a Music educator) at 3:50 p.m. on Wednesday, 10th May, 2023. Ms Vishwaroop presented groovy numbers in Tamil, Marathi, and Hindi. 

Please click here to watch a recording of this session.

Leverage the IAPC’s Social Media to stay connected and informed with latest updates from the world of palliative care!

Today’s fast paced world makes it imperative to stay connected and be informed with updates from the world of palliative care from both India and beyond.

The IAPC invites you to join the IAPC’s Social Media community where boundaries vanish and oppurtuntites to network, engage and get enlightened flourish.

Join us to stay updated about events, take part in meaningful discussions, share best practices, knowledge and experiences, and to cheer, celebrate and motivate our colleagues from across the globe.   

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

New vacancies from across the country listed in the IAPC’s Careers page

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.