News Highlight
Only 1-2% of the population who need palliative care have access to it in India, compared to the global average of 14%.
Key Takeaway
- The data is according to the Health Ministry data analysis released by the health unit of the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).
- The analysis shows that while India stands at number three in terms of cancer incidence in the world, most States in the country do not even have to enable legislation or policy to integrate palliative care with treatment offered to cancer patients.
- Only three States in India (Kerala, Karnataka and Maharashtra) have a palliative care policy.
What is Palliative Care?
- It is an interdisciplinary medical caregiving approach aimed at optimising the quality of life and mitigating suffering among people with severe, complex, and often terminal illnesses.
Why is India’s palliative care lagging?
- Disease-focused healthcare system
- With the advent of technology, healthcare has become disease-focused.
- Lack of trained doctors and medical staff
- Palliative care needs extra training in pain management, care and empathy. However, the absence of a well-trained cadre affects the Indian healthcare system.
- It was only in 2010 that the Medical Council accepted palliative medicine as a medical speciality and announced an MD course in palliative care.
- Political apathy
- In 2012, the Ministry of Health announced a National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC) in the 12th Five-Year Plan.
- Unfortunately, the proposed budget allocation did not materialise.
- Lack of awareness and widespread poverty
- Patients and their families remain unaware of the nuances of palliative care.
- Also, most patients belong to the poor section of society who cannot afford such services.
- Absence of community/home-based palliative care
- India faces a shortage of community/home-based palliative care facilities.
- Economic factors
- Patients who are suffering from critical illness often do not choose the options which they think would create a burden for their families.
Government initiative
- National Programme for Palliative Care (NPPC)
- It aims to ensure the availability and accessibility of rational, quality pain relief and palliative care to the needy, as an integral part of Health Care at all levels, in alignment with the community requirements.
Way forward
- Role of public
- Palliative care could strengthen by involving the public and Non-Governmental organisations (NGOs).
- Funding
- The government has to reserve special funds for palliative care.
- Awareness generation
- Make the public aware of the importance of palliative care through media and other methods.
- Corporate social responsibility (CSR)
- The government has to encourage companies to spend their Corporate social responsibility obligation on palliative care.
- School syllabus
- Palliative care has to make a part of the school syllabus and gives adequate training for students from the school level.
Content Source: The Hindu