Hospice and Palliative Care
HOSPICE AND PALLIATIVE CARE UPDATE
Our links with Hospice Nepal started back in 2010 when Clare Selley first visited Nepal. She spent several weeks there volunteering as a nurse, working alongside local colleagues, sharing her knowledge, and learning equallyfrom them. A friendship was created which has grown over the years.
Initially, money to fund larger items such as a new generator, new flooring, solar panels, decorating etc came from friends and family.
Over the past nine years NEPAL-ease has supportedHospice Nepal in various ways by supplying the following:
• Syringe drivers*
• 30cc luer-lock syringe drivers and extension sets
• Pressure-relieving aids
• A portable ECG machine
*Syringe drivers are essential to deliver pain relief, anti-sickness and other important medications that help to manage symptom control when someone approaches end of life and are no longer able to swallow medication.
When we visited in March 2023, we took ten GrasebyM26 syringe drivers with us. Eight were presented to the hospice and the other two were donated to Cancer Care Nepal. This type of syringe pump has been replaced in the UK by new, modern digital ones. That fact that the Graseby syringe drivers are easy to use and to maintain still makes them the number one choice for many countries.
Cancer Care Nepal and hospice Nepal work closely together to improve patient comfort and access to free medication.
PALLIATIVE CARE TRAINING FOR THE STAFF AT ARNAKOT.
During our visit to Arnakot in March 2023, Clare ran a training session entitled ‘An introduction to palliative care’ for fourteen health care staff from Nisikhola. Unfortunately access to pain relief and other medications is very limited, so instead of symptom control management, the session focused on the importance of holistic care and how the nurses are well placed to reach out to those in need.
Since then, we have identified and funded palliative care training for 17 healthcare staff from Nisikhola district including the two nurses from Arnakot and some staff from Burtibang Hospital.
The training was delivered by palliative care consultants and nurses at Green Pastures hospital in Pokhara. The logistics (accommodation, transport etc) were coordinated by the team at Karma Flights.
In September of 2024, the charity funded a further 19 healthcare professionals to attend three days of training in Pokhara. In addition, one of the nurses who attended the training in 2023 will spend another two weeks at the palliative care hospital, gaining valuable hands-on experience and information that she can take back to Burtibang Hospital where she works. In future, we expect that she will take on the role of the palliative care link nurse for the area of Nisikhola.
It is a wonderful achievement, and one that will have far reaching effects for people requiring palliative care support throughout Nisikhola.
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The founders of the hospice, Dr Rajesh Gongal and Dr Pradeep Vaidya have been instrumental in the development of palliative care as part of the core medical training in Nepal. Hospice Nepal are seeking large amounts of sponsorship to fund a new larger hospice that also offers palliative (supportive end of life) care training to doctors who currently have to travel to other countries such as Russia or India to gain this qualification. If you would like to know more, please visit www.hospicenepal.org.np