Pallium India

Pallium India is a palliative care organisation that works to relieve pain and suffering for people living with serious and chronic illness, and to support their families. For more than two decades it has worked to expand access to palliative care in India through patient care, training, policy work and support for new services. Its work looks beyond medical treatment to the wider lives of patients and families. Its teams visit patients at home, and it also helps families with food, rehabilitation and children's education when illness causes financial and social hardship. Through its Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, it trains health professionals and volunteers and works to improve access to pain relief medicines.

Headquarters: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India

Major Areas of Work

• Clinical palliative care: Home visits, outpatient services and tele-health consultations for patients with serious and chronic illness, including a palliative care OPD at Jayanagar General Hospital in Bengaluru.

• Education and training: Courses and fellowships in palliative medicine and palliative nursing for doctors, nurses and volunteers.

• Policy and access to pain relief: Work on palliative care policy and on access to essential medicines for pain relief, in India and internationally.

• Facilitation of new services: Support for institutions and groups setting up their own palliative care services, along with a directory of palliative care services in India.

• Social support and community engagement: Food, rehabilitation and education support for families affected by long-term illness, and the involvement of trained community volunteers in care.

Major Initiatives and Programmes

• Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences (TIPS): Pallium India's training and policy institute in Thiruvananthapuram, which has been a WHO Collaborating Centre for Training and Policy on Access to Pain Relief for South-East Asia Region countries since 2012.

• Global Fellowship in Palliative Medicine (GFPM): A fellowship programme in palliative medicine that takes applications for each new cohort.

• Foundation Course in Palliative Medicine (FCPM): An introductory course in the principles and practice of palliative medicine.

• Palliative nursing course: A six-week training course in palliative nursing.

• Palliative care helpline: A national helpline offering free telephone consultations, tele-health and clinical support to patients and families.

• Education support and food kit programmes: Support for the schooling of children whose parents are seriously ill or bedridden, and monthly food rations given to families during home visits.

Impact

Pallium India's own site cites 256 palliative care centres across India, 12,375 people trained in palliative care, 16,919 people given rehabilitation support and 122,728 beneficiaries reached. The organisation holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC).

Leadership

• Dr M R Rajagopal, Chairman

• Smriti Rana, Head, WHO Collaborating Centre at TIPS

Pallium India suits people who want to work closely with patients and families facing serious illness, and who care about pain relief, dignity and quality of life. Its work covers home-based clinical care, nursing, training, social support, community engagement and policy, so staff see palliative care both at the bedside and at the level of national and regional policy. Its training institute and WHO collaboration show how palliative care is taught and expanded across India and South-East Asia. The work suits doctors, nurses, social workers, trainers and public health professionals who want long-term, people-focused work in health care.