Palliative Medicine

About the Specialty

Your Journey to Comfort, Dignity, and Support with MGMCH's Palliative Medicine Department. The Department of Pain & Palliative Medicine at MGMCH , Provides facilites for management of Pain and Palliative care for symptoms related to cancer and other life limiting illnesses.

palliative medicine

We have a well-experienced and highly skilled team of palliative physicians who provide comprehensive palliative care with the help of the state-of-the-art infrastructure of MGMCH.

Pain Clinic at MGMCH also provides services to manage chronic pain conditions (example – Low back pain , shoulder pain , knee pain , Fibromyalgia pain , cancer pain and so on ..) the team believes in extending quality patient care, not only in the wards but beyond it by providing home care and tele-consultations.

HOD Message

HOD Massege

Dr. Sudha Sarna (MD)

Professor & Head

Department of Palliative Medicine

The Department of Palliative Medicine at MGMCH, Jaipur prides itself on being a pioneer in patient care, education, and scientific research.

The department is dedicated to providing world-class palliative care services to all its patients suffering from life limiting illness.

While we are equipped with supremely advanced pain management facilities and recent equipment, our most notable asset is our phenomenal faculty. Our dedicated and highly qualified team of professionals deliver efficient and compassionate patient care that is par excellence.

Specialty Clinics

Pain Clinic

In the pain management clinic at MGMCH, multidisciplinary assessment, diagnosis, and treatment planning are used. In-house and outpatient patients are both welcome to use these services. As part of the Department of Palliative Medicine, this pain unit uses a variety of methods to manage pain, including nerve blocks, drug combinations, radiofrequency ablation/stimulation, physiotherapy, and psychological counselling. Getting to the root of a patient's pain and bringing about a speedy recovery are the team's major goals.

Palliative Medicine OPD

Personalized care for patients with palliative medicine is provided through a multidisciplinary approach at MGMCH. It is the team's primary goal to provide patients with holistic care that addresses their physical symptoms, their psychological concerns, as well as providing them with the highest quality medical care possible during their terminal illness.

Core Competencies

Patient Care

Our devoted team acknowledges the significance of empathy and precision in fulfilling their roles as healthcare professionals. Committed to delivering optimal treatment for health issues and promoting overall well-being, our team collaborates seamlessly to ensure the highest standards of patient care.

Medical Expertise

Our team members possess extensive knowledge in evolving biomedical, clinical, and related sciences. Leveraging this expertise, they meticulously tailor patient care strategies for optimal outcomes.

Continuous Improvement

In our pursuit of enhanced patient care, our experts thoroughly investigate and assess each case, striving to identify and implement the most effective treatment plans.

Interpersonal and Communication Excellence

We prioritise the development of strong interpersonal and communication skills among all team members. Effective communication with patients, their families, and professional colleagues is a cornerstone of our approach to care.

Professional Integrity

Guided by unwavering ethical principles, our treatment plans are rooted in professionalism. We are dedicated to demonstrating sensitivity and respect to all our patients.

Holistic Healthcare Approach

Our responsive staff considers the broader healthcare context, efficiently utilising system resources to deliver high-quality care. We are committed to excellence in patient care within the larger framework of healthcare practices.

Diagnostic and Clinical Services

  • Pain management and Palliative care services to patients in oncology , nephrology, neurosurgery, radiation oncology, Neuro-surgery and ICU patients .
  • End of life care services for terminally ill patients in icu setting by providing them medical support , comfort , psychological support to family and fulfilling their spiritual needs.
emergency
emergency

Aims and Objectives

The aim is to provide the best medical care to every patient who visits our setting . We aim to help every patient with an incurable illness by reducing their pain and symptom burden. A holistic care is what we try to provide every patient where not only they are given medical care but also psychosocial and emotional support to deal with the situation. We focus on pain management so that no patient suffers during their course of illness and can be at ease in their remaining journey of life.

Treatment(Ailment)

At the Division of Palliative Medicine of MGMCH, we invest our efforts, time, and expertise to detect and treat various types of Ailments.

  • Cancer Pain Cancer pain is a complicated entity which can present at any stage of the disease and often difficult to manage. It requires management with oral systemic therapy and around 10% of patients require interventional pain management techniques at some point in their disease course who do not respond to oral systemic treatment.
  • Multi-Organ Failure Multi-organ failure is usually caused due to Sepsis. It is also known as Total Organ Failure. Organ failure is the dysfunction of vital organs to such an extent that normal homeostasis cannot be maintained without external medical intervention.
  • Respiratory Failure Respiratory failure happens when fluid builds up in the air sacs of your lungs. Your lungs cannot discharge oxygen into your blood. Organs can’t get enough oxygen-rich blood to work. The conditions can be acute or chronic. Respiratory failure can lead to death if not treated quickly.
  • Chronic Kidney Disease Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a type of kidney disease in which a gradual loss of kidney function occurs over a period of months to years. Initially generally no symptoms are seen, but later symptoms may include leg swelling, feeling tired, vomiting, loss of appetite, and confusion.
  • Advanced Cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. Many patients at diagnosis have advanced malignancy where the disease has already spread to other parts . Such patients might require chemotherapy , operative and palliative care . Patients during their course of illness suffer many symptoms and side effects due to the treatments.

Procedures

Our center is one of the very few where special procedures and interventions are performed to diagnose and treat complex Palliative Medicine. Some of these procedures include:

Lumbar Epidural
  • A lumbar epidural steroid injection (lumbar ESI) is an injection of anti-inflammatory medicine — a steroid or corticosteroid — into the epidural space around the spinal nerves in your low back. The main goal of lumbar epidural steroid injections is to manage chronic pain caused by irritation and inflammation of the spinal nerve roots in your low back (the lumbar region of your spine) due to certain conditions or injuries. Removing a tissue sample from a tumor for examination to determine its type and grade.
Facet Joint Injection
  • A facet joint injection is a procedure where pain-relieving and anti-inflammatory medications are injected into your facet joints to reduce pain.
  • Your facet joints are a pair of small joints located at the back of your spine between each of your vertebrae. Wear and tear from years of use or traumatic injuries can sometimes cause pain in these joints. Many people experience relief for months after receiving an injection. The procedure is minimally invasive and has a low risk of complications.
Thoracocentesis
  • Thoracentesis, commonly known as a pleural tap or chest tap, is a procedure where excess pleural fluid is drained from the pleural space for diagnostic and/or therapeutic reasons. Ultrasound-guided thoracentesis performed by radiologists has been shown to have fewer complications than blind thoracentesis.
Ketamine infusion/Lignocaine Infusion
  • Administration of intravenous lignocaine infusion is indicated in patients with chronic neuropathic (nerve memory) pain such as occurs with acute spinal cord injury, polyneuropathy, complex regional pain syndrome, deafferentation or postamputation, central pain syndromes and cancer pain that have not responded to other interventions.
  • Celiac Plexus Block

    Celiac plexus block is a pain relief procedure used for patients with abdominal cancers, most commonly pancreatic cancer. It’s also known as celiac plexus neurolysis or CPN.

  • Pleurocentesis

    Pleurocentesis is a minimally invasive procedure that removes fluid from the pleural space. The pleural space (pleural cavity) is the space between the two layers of the pleura.

  • Paracentesis

    Paracentesis, commonly known as a Ascitic tap , is a procedure where excess Ascitic fluid is drained from the peritoneal space for diagnostic and/or therapeutic reasons. Ultrasound-guided Paracentesis has been shown to have fewer complications than blind Paracentesis.

Facilities

24X7 Emergency Facilities

  • Daycare Services
  • 24X7 Pharmacy
  • 24X7 Clinical Laboratory Services
  • 24X7 Ambulance
  • OPD Procedures
  • IPD Procedures
  • Health Checkups

24x7 Radiology & Imaging Services

  • MRI Machine – Advanced 1.5 Tesla MRI
  • CT Scan – 16 Slice CT scan
  • Computerized Radiography (CR) System
  • Ultrasound
  • X-ray

24X7 Emergency & Critical Care Facilities

24 Hours Emergency & Level 1 Trauma Services with state of art emergency unit with a dedicated triage area trauma bay and cardiac emergency unit. Equipped with Ventilators, cardiac monitors, defibrillators, and other point-of-care testing equipment (POCT); Mobile X-ray unit, ABG, round-the-clock Radiology, pathology, and pharmacy.

  • Strict infection control policies and protocols.
  • Collaborative and comprehensive super specialists team comprising of Neuro, Cardio, Ortho, Nephron, Vascular, Plastic, Gastro, Urologist, critical care, and intensivists.

Our Associated Doctors

FAQs

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illnesses. It can help with pain, symptoms, and stresses of serious illness. It can also help people cope with side effects from medical treatments.

The main forms of palliative care are Pain Management , symptom management, emotional support, and spiritual care.

Common medications used in palliative care include:

  • Analgesics, such as morphine ,codeine, fentanyl, hydrocodone, hydromorphone, meperidine, and methadone
  • Antiemetics, to treat and prevent nausea and vomiting
  • Laxatives, to prevent and treat constipation

Palliative care can last for a short duration, comprised of a number of days or weeks, but this can also go on for a number of years.

Palliative care can be given in different settings, such as your home, in hospital, in a care home or hospice

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