First-ever ‘Communication Skills Workshop’ at National Cancer Institute, Maharagama

MARKSS HLC, one of Sri Lanka’s leading pharmaceutical and medical equipment importers and distributors sponsored the first ever ‘Communication Skills Workshop’ at the Sri Lanka National Cancer Institute in Maharagama.

This workshop which was designed to improve the communication skills of medical professionals with their patients was organised by the Patients Advice and Liaison Service of the Institute. It was conducted by internationally famed Consultant in Palliative Medicine from India, Dr. Srinagesh Simha, and Gurmeet Singh Randhawa, Professional Counsellor.

This workshop which was attended by over 100 consultants, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals covered many important topics such as cancer diagnosis and communication skills which are vital to the treatment and terminal care of cancer patients.

The focus was mainly on treating the psychological aspect of the patients and their family members. Another special feature of this workshop was the attendance of medical professionals involved in cancer care at government hospitals throughout the island.

Dr. Kanishka Karunaratna, Director, National Cancer Institute, commenting on this ground breaking workshop, stated: “This workshop is an important milestone in the medical history of this country because it is the first time that such an event has been organised for medical professionals who need special skills to deal with cancer patients and their families with empathy and tact.”

He noted that “the imparting of specialised knowledge by two world renowned experts to our medical professionals is an important aspect of the duty of care of our institute. In addition to this workshop we will organise more workshops on the optimal care and palliative skills of medical professionals with special emphasis on cancer patients, in the future.”

“Our objective is to make Sri Lanka a healthy nation by introducing the latest pharmaceuticals, medical equipment, medical knowledge and technology to our country. In pursuit of this objective we have instituted many programmes such as this workshop,” said Dr. S. Markalanda, Medical Director, MARKSS HLC.

He added: “We sponsored this workshop since we supply the latest pharmaceuticals and medical equipment. We know that a patient’s mental well being is also of paramount importance, even more than medicines at times, in the healing process.  This is especially true when dealing with cancer patients and their families.”