Outreach Visit

Ambala, India

In February of this year, Jane MacKintosh and David MacKintosh conducted their fourth Project Hamrahi visit to India. During their week-long visit to the Ambala Cantt and Rotary Hospital in the state of Haryana, approximately 200 km north of Delhi, they had their most informative trip in providing them with insights into the problems facing palliative care, particularly outside of main centres where resources are most lacking.

Attending clinics at the Rotary Hospital was most revealing in showing some of the major difficulties facing services providing health care in general and palliative care in particular in India. These include manpower resources, access to medications, particularly morphine, and cultural and financial factors. 

Much of this is beyond the reach of the Sneh Sparsh palliative care service at present although its commitment to providing home care services free of cost and gifts of monthly rations is especially noteworthy. Matters relating to cultural attitudes to disease modifying treatment and dying, by both public and medical staff, are long term problems. These are probably also beyond the scope of Sneh Sparsh currently. 

The ever-present difficulties of financial burdens of pursuing treatment which will be of little benefit to the patient, remain a concern. Ongoing promotion of palliative care and the palliative approach to treatment is, however, one relatively low-cost approach which Sneh Sparsh continues to pursue actively with good results.

We sincerely thank Jane and David for their commitment to assisting our colleagues in India and congratulate the work of Dr Kanav and his team in Ambala.

Please find the full report here: