The Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health (IGICH) is a stand-alone tertiary referral hospital with 480 beds in Bengaluru, aided by the Government of Karnataka, India, since 1991. Dr. Sanjay K S, Director of IGICH, has led the hospital in providing unwavering commitment towards child healthcare services to families across Karnataka and neighbouring states in southern India.
On March 22, 2024, IGICH had the official inauguration of its Pain and Palliative Care programme. The programme was formally launched by Dr. Stuart Brown, Director of the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration and Dr. Gayatri Palat, Programme Director of the Children’s Palliative Care Fellowship Program at the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration.
By establishing the first Paediatric Pain and Palliative care program in Karnataka, IGICH renews its commitment to the utmost care and respect for the most vulnerable children, aiming to eliminate unnecessary pain and suffering in children from infancy to adulthood.
Dr. Gayatri Palat highlighted the urgent need to establish pain and palliative care units across India for the 1.6 million children in India with palliative care needs. Dr. Sanjay KS emphasised the need to increase awareness about Children’s Palliative Care (CPC) in children, especially for those coming from lower socio-economic families who face the highest burden of suffering. Dr. Nijaguna, Professor and Head of Paediatric Medicine, Dr. Narendra Babu, Professor and Head of Paediatric Surgery, Dr. Madhavi N, Professor and Head of Paediatric Anaesthesiology and Dr. Kiran Rajappa, Associate Professor from Paediatric Orthopaedics, echoed these views in the opening speeches.
Dr. Prahalad A, the Medical Superintendent of the hospital, noted that we were close from implementing the Comfort promise at IGICH. The event’s chief guest, Dr. Stuart Brown, Director of the TWCC, applauded the hospital’s achievement over the last 30 years and reiterated his stand to help improve access to palliative care for children across the globe. In closing, Dr. Chandrika Y R, professor Anaesthesiology, commended the hospital’s management for supporting these important initiatives and ensuring the provision of the best services in a state-run government children’s hospital.
This event was a great success, mainly due to the enormous support of several distinguished individuals. Dr. Dhaval Shukla, Professor and Head of the Neurosurgery Department, Dr. Sriganesh Kamath, Professor and Head of Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care, and Dr. Sudhir V Professor, Department of Neuroanesthesia and Critical Care, from NIMHANS were instrumental in making this event a success. We also owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Namrata Ranganath, Professor and Former Head of Anaesthesiology and Pain Relief, KIDWAI Memorial Hospital, and Dr. Sandya K, Professor, Anaesthesiology from BMCRI, for their valuable contributions.
This new Pain and Palliative Care programme will focus on providing care for inpatients with cancer and other serious illnesses such as severe cerebral palsy, neurodegenerative, metabolic diseases and infants with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. The Pain and Palliative Care programme is currently run by Dr. Anuradha Ganigara, a paediatric anaesthesiologist with additional training in palliative medicine, along with the support of fellows and residents in the anaesthesiology department. The team expects to care for children and their families in the first year, through a combined inpatient service as well as regular outpatient clinics. The will provide telephone support for children and families who are discharged from the hospital as well.
Congratulations on your new venture.
All the best.