The 2021 BMA Medical Book Awards have been announced, and we have reasons to celebrate!
The British Medical Association (BMA) medical book awards take place annually to recognise outstanding contributions to medical literature. This year’s awards were announced during a virtual ceremony on 30th September in the UK, and selected the 3rd edition of the Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care for the prestigious 2021 BMA Medical Awards for the best publication in the ‘Hospital medicine’ category.
We are excited to share that, this is the first time that a reference book on the subject, with major contributions from Indian professionals as editors and authors, has received such a recognition. Nandini Vallath is one of the editors, along with Max Watson, Stephen Ward, Jo Wells, and Rachel Campbell. She has also co-authored several chapters in this book. Dr Lulu Mathews and Dr Gayatri Palat have contributed as authors to chapters on ‘End of Life Care’, and ‘Palliative Care Emergencies’, and Dr M.R. Rajagopal has contributed to the chapter on ‘International Perspectives of Palliative Care’. This popular and practical publication is available in other global languages as well.
The Oxford Handbook of Palliative Care (3rd Ed) is now available for purchase in India at stores and on Amazon.in at a special and concessional rate for Indian readers. Hurry and get your copy now!
Congratulations Dr. Nandini and the team of editors and authors! We are proud of you.
The Fellowship in Palliative Care awarded the ‘Leadership in Education Award 2021’ by EAPC and EUPCA
The Fellowship in Palliative Care Program has been adjudged as the best leadership capacity building program worldwide and won the ‘Leadership in Education Award 2021’ by the European Association of Palliative Care (EAPC) and European Palliative Care Academy (EUPCA).
The Fellowship in Palliative Care is an advanced course run by the Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM), Calicut, India, in partnership with Sanjeevan Palliative Care Project, Pondicherry, India, St Christopher’s Hospice, London, United Kingdom, and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University, Bangladesh.
The six month course is designed as a distance education program with contact sessions based on principles of adult learning and is conducted through IPM at the request of WHO as part of its designation as a WHO Collaborating Centre for Community Participation in Palliative Care and Long-term Care. The program aims to deliver a quality training program that is affordable to participants from low- and middle-income countries. 136 delegates from 43 countries participated in the recently concluded Palliative Care Fellowship. Registrations are now open for the next batch.
Dr. Libby Sallnow, Senior Clinical Academic at St Christopher’s, and Palliative Care Consultant at Central and North West London NHS Trust, UK, accepted the award on behalf of the team at the virtual EAPC conference held earlier this month.
Congratulations to the team!
RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust’s initiative towards making palliative care accessible to all!
The RMD Pain and Palliative Care Trust, Chennai, headed by Dr. Republica Sridhar (a Palliative and Geriatric Care Specialist) has signed an MoU with the Department of Public Health Dentistry, Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences (SIMTS), Chennai, to provide free oral cancer treatment and palliative care services for needy patients.
The MoU will allow for both entities to jointly conduct free Oral health and Oral cancer screening and awareness programs, and enable oral cancer patients requiring interventions such as surgical, radiotherapy and chemotherapy to avail Specialist and technical services free of charges, which would have otherwise been inaccessible to most of them.
Patients with oral cancer can be referred and approached for treatment under this joint scheme.
Thank you Dr Republica, and the team from SIMTS for your joint initiative.
The Bagchi Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre begins provisioning free home care services in Bhubaneswar, Odisha
The Bagchi Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre in Bhubaneswar for advanced and terminally ill cancer patients began provisioning free home care services for end stage cancer patients from 18th October, 2021. Service provision began with one team consisting of a nurse, a counsellor and a doctor. A second home care team will be deployed soon.
The center’s In-patient care will have 110 beds and is expected to be ready in August 2023.
The free home care services are currently available from Monday to Friday between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Please feel free to connect with the team at info@karunashraya.org or 0674 2914450, for further information.
We wish you the best Team Bagchi Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre!
Punjab gets its first hospice at Mallunangal
8th October, 2021, was a historic and a momentous day for palliative care in Punjab, as the first hospice in the State was inaugurated on this very day. The Sri Guru Ram Das University of Health Sciences (SGRDUHS) launched the Sri Guru Ram Das home-based palliative care service at their rural health and training centre in Mallunangal.
The first of its kind, 5 bedded hospice, will provide both inpatient and home based palliative care services, free of cost, to those who are in need of such services. Dr. Harjot Singh and Dr. Paramjot Bindra will lead a team of 4 other palliative care trained doctors, 1 Paediatrician, 1 Psychiatrist, 8 Nursing staff and 6 ANM’s who will provide field support.
Dr. A. P. Singh, Dean, SGRDUHS, Dr. M. S. Uppal, Director Principal of Sri Guru Ram Das Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (SGRDIMSAR) , Dr. Abhijit Dam, President, National Association of Palliative Care for AYUSH and Integrative Medicine (NAPCAIM) and Dr. Piyush Gupta, Secretary, NAPCAIM were present at the inauguration of the the unit.
Dr. Abhijit Dam, on this occasion shared that “This is a very good way to serve the poor and rural community”. Dr. Dam also highlighted the role of community volunteers in provisioning palliative care within the community.
Please feel free to contact Dr. Harjot Singh (7710449777) or Dr. Paramjot Bindra (7837204492) for further details.
We wish the team the very best for a successful start!
‘Santham’, a dedicated palliative and hospice care service launched in Coimbatore
PSG Hospitals, launched ‘Santham’ a dedicated palliative and hospice care service, in Coimbatore, on Saturday, 9th October, 2021, on the occasion of World Hospice and Palliative Care Day.
The center was inaugurated by Mr L Gopalakrishnan, the Managing Trustee of PSG Institutions, in the presence of Dr. Kesavo Aran, President of Shanthi Ashram, Dr. Smriti Rana, Director of Programs, Pallium India, Dr. Balaji, Director of Oncology, PSG Institute of Oncology and the Managing Trustee of Coimbatore Cancer Foundation and Dr. J. S. Bhuvaneswaran, Director of PSG Super Speciality Hospital among several others.
On this momentous occasion, Dr. Balaji shared that “What we have started today is actually not a start, but it is the formal inauguration of a palliative care department in PSG Hospital. The center will provide Outpatient, Inpatient, Home Care Services, Respite Care and a hospice for the terminally ill at very minimal or subsidized costs to patients”. He went on to add that “No one will be denied care because they do not have money. In genuine cases where they cannot afford to pay for the services, we will either find them a sponsor or extend support during their time of need”.
Please contact Dr. Harsha at +91 9095512221 for further details.
Congratulations to the ‘Santham’ team and wish you the best for your future endeavours.