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Cipla Foundation in partnership with National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Sciences (NIMHANS) has set up a first-of-its-kind neuro-palliative care unit in Bengaluru. “This integrated unit has provided support to over 2,000 individuals with neurological conditions such as alzheimer’s, dementia, and parkinson’s, through in-patient, out-patient, home care services, and has also offered teleconsultation services to patients as well as their families and caregivers,” Rumana Hamied, Managing Trustee of Cipla Foundation told The Indian Express.
At this neuro-palliative care unit, a multidisciplinary team of medical and social work professionals provides comprehensive support to patients and their families, free of cost, as they navigate symptoms associated with progressive conditions.
These symptoms include challenges in movement, respiratory function, speech, swallowing, cognitive abilities and communication that patients may encounter during their treatment. In addition to medical care, the team extends emotional support to both patients and their families as they adapt to life with the disease and increasingly rely on external assistance. They conduct assessments of patients’ home environments, taking proactive measures to prepare for the disease’s progression. This unit also collaborates with the district mental health program and local palliative centres to ensure ongoing support and holistic care for patients.
“The goal of palliative care is to provide the best possible quality of life at every stage for all serious illnesses. This initiative reinforces our dedication to strengthen India’s palliative care ecosystem,” Hamied said.
The unit also collaboratively creates customised, home-based care plans tailored to individual needs, with the goal of preserving the highest attainable quality of life.
Over the years Cipla has set up partnerships on a palliative care system with 29 such partners across 20 cities.
“At NIMHANS,Director Dr Pratima Murthy reached out to us and we spoke about the need for neuropalliative care.
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There is an ageing population and we are seeing more and more degenerative illnesses like dementia, Parkinson’s disease and so on. So we decided lets’s start a palliative OPD,” Hamied recalled.
The managing trustee of CIPLA foundation now hopes to expand this concept of a neuro-palliative OPD across their paediatric palliative care centres as children also present with neurological illnesses Hamied also underlines the need for a palliative approach to medicine. “For medical personnel a six week online course (part time) can really help. All one needs is compassion and ethics. Palliative care is not attractive to any health care provider or practitioner but we are living longer as per studies . Our future plans include bringing as many people under the net – medical professionals, patients, families and so on. We need to step up awareness about palliative care,” Hamied said.
In a statement, Dr Murthy, Director, NIMHANS said that this initiative will go a long way in supporting patients with neurological conditions along with their families. “We are grateful to Cipla Foundation’s support to making palliative care accessible to patients who need it the most,” Dr Murthy said.
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