KOZHIKODe: Considering the sharp rise in the number of patients afflicted with incurable diseases and in need of palliative care, the Government will provide students of medicine and nursing training in this branch of medicine, Director of Medical Education (DME) has informed the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC).

Palliative care deals with problems of patients in an advanced stage of painful diseases like cancer.

DME Meenu Hariharan informed the SHRC Chairman V.P. Mohankumar, in a submission on Thursday, that the Government would impart two days' training in palliative care to undergraduate medical students and nursing students in medical colleges.

The DME's statement came in response to a joint petition filed before Mr. Mohankumar. The petitioners had sought a directive from the Commission to the State Government to provide training in palliative care to doctor in government hospitals.

Acknowledging the growing importance of palliative care in the State, the DME informed the SHRC that programmes to provide training and exposure to this branch of medicine for teachers in medical college service were being arranged.

The DME said the Government would initiate steps to give training in palliative care to all medical and nursing staff in the public sector through in-service courses, but pointed out that it was for the Director of Health Services (DHS) to issue orders in this regard since he was the controlling officer in such matters.

The DME agreed with the petitioners' argument that palliative care facilities were needed in at least one government hospital in every block panchayat, but pointed out that only the Local Self-Government Department had the authority to arrange such facilities.

The DME would take up the issue of including palliative care in undergraduate medical and nursing curriculum with the Medical Council of India and the Nursing Council of India.

The DME's submission before the SHRC was in response to a joint petition by E. Subair, a cancer patient, and Jose Pulimuttil, a volunteer in the health sector, who claimed that palliative care in the government sector was a basic right of people afflicted with deadly diseases like cancer.

Stressing the urgent need to develop palliative care facilities which was now confined to a few private hospitals and the Pain and Palliative Care Clinic in Kozhikode, they pointed out that the State already had a population of nearly 60,000 cancer patients who were in need of palliative care.

Nearly 75 per cent of the 40,000-odd patients diagnosed every year to be stricken with cancer would have to be given palliative care since they were in an advanced stage of the disease, the petitioners said.

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