Improving quality of life of the chronically ill

Friday, 22 May 2015 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Nawaloka’s palliative care team shows the way

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Nawaloka Hospitals recently launched Sri Lanka’s first dedicated palliative care unit in the private sector to offer exceptional patient and family-centered care.

The World Health Organization defines palliative care as improving the quality of life of patients and their families through the prevention and relief of suffering. This is done through early identification, impeccable assessment and treatment of pain – be it physical, psychosocial or spiritual.

While advances in medical technology have helped us live longer we still face the inevitable age related deterioration of physiological conditions. This could lead to other complications with ailments that further degrade one’s quality of life. Seeing someone we care about enter the last stages of life is likely to be one of the most difficult and distressing experiences that we will ever go through. Therefore, this new service from Nawaloka Hospitals is more relevant today than ever before.

Nawaloka’s extensively trained, dedicated 15 member palliative care team will work alongside senior specialists from multiple disciplines to improve the quality of life of both patients and their families. Focusing on reducing the pain, stress and side effects related to the illness, they seek to help patients live as comfortably as possible until the very end.

While addressing the symptoms, they will also actively integrate psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care into the treatment process. Trained to interact with family members and handle their emotions and sensitivities right from breaking the initial news to grief counselling, they will also serve as a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their bereavement.

Nawaloka strives to offer the very latest in world class medical care, cost effectively, right here in Sri Lanka. Yet, at times, doctors encounter situations where no treatment options are available and the patient is approaching end of life. Step in during such trying times, the hospital’s palliative care unit is geared to offer much needed medical and emotional support.