An article in the daily sun highlights the growing need for palliative care in the country and the misconceptions around such services.
Prof Dr Nezamuddin Ahmad of the Centre for Palliative Care at Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) is quoted as saying: “People often misinterpret such care. Some believe it is related to death or it is about limiting life. Others believe it only deals with pain management. But, it is none of those.”
Palliative care is a developing discipline in Bangladesh. The Centre for Palliative Care at BSMMU was established in 2007, and last year served more than 1,000 patients. However, demand is growing and there still much work to do to improve and expand palliative care services.
In the article, Prof Dr MA Hannan, from the Directorate of Health Services, said: “In the near future, we have planned to set up palliative care units in all the tertiary-level hospitals to give comprehensive health support to the chronic patients so that they can live with hope despite their fatal physical condition.”
Bangladesh is one of the four partner countries in the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care, a collaboration between the Lien Foundation and the Asia Pacific Hospice Palliative Care Network to build capacity for palliative care in several low resource countries in Asia.
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