East Zone: World Hospice & Palliative Care Day Celebration at
AIIMS, Patna, Bihar
AIIMS Patna celebrated this year’s World Hospice and Palliative Care Day by organising academic and sensitization programmes for the Institute’s faculty and students at the Institute’s auditorium.
A panel discussion (which included select speakers from Radiation Oncology, Anesthesiology, Forensic Medicine and Toxicology and Nursing) was held on various aspects of palliative care and covered discussions on palliative care education, End-of-life care, the Medico-legal aspects of palliative care and the overall status of palliative care in the State. This engaging panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Umesh Kumar Bhadani, In-charge of Palliative Medicine, at AIIMS Patna.
Post these discussions, the audience were treated to a video presentation, in which the Indian Association of Palliative Care’s video to celebrate palliative care providers from across the country was screened. The video edited by Dr Wasim Hoda, evoked alot of discussions thereafter to improve the provisioning of quality palliative care services.
The celebrations were covered by the media, and we leveraged this opportunity to sensitize the press and media persons regarding the need and importance of palliative care. Our efforts were not futile, as the event was covered in the following day’s local papers.
Prof. Prabhat Kumar Singh, Director, AIIMS Patna, the Faculties, the Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students, the Nursing Staff and Rehabilitation Workers participated in the celebrations, which culminated in a delicious lunch sponsored by the Institute.
We strongly feel that celebrating this event helped us to generate awareness and motivate professionals to inculcate the principles of palliative care in their everyday practice.