I am an occupational therapist (OT) and lead for the Cambridge Breathlessness Intervention Service (CBIS) in the Palliative Care Team at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. I am sitting with an equal measure of excitement and nervousness ahead of my visit to Rishikesh with the Cambridge Global Health Partnership (CGHP) and the RAMA Foundation.
My path to OT, and then specialising in palliative care, has been a series of (very fortunate) chance encounters and opportunities. I feel immensely grateful to work in a profession that I love and in a field of practice that provides a sense of fulfilment, challenge, and pride. The CBIS team works with people living with breathlessness, with a focus on working together and empowering people to continue to live as independently and as well as is possible. The service is recognised nationally and internationally for its ongoing research and evidence-based teaching programme. When visiting people and their loved ones in their own homes, seeing how they manage in the face of immeasurable challenge, I am constantly reminded of the resilience and strength of the human spirit and feel very privileged to play a very small part in their lives.
Although working collaborations and volunteering projects have brought me to many countries, India has always been a country that I have a strong desire to experience but have yet to visit, up until now. I have been aware of and very inspired by the work of CGHP and the RAMA Foundation through working with Dr Anna Spathis, and I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to visit with Dr Mallika Fonseca. I am very interested in learning about different healthcare systems and in particular the differences and similarities in palliative care practice.
I am aware that the Rama Foundation, Himalayan Hospital and Ganga Prem Hospice have well established relationships, with several AHP colleagues having visited before. I have seen how these relationships have produced excellent results in terms of collaborative working and sharing of resources and expertise. It is wonderful to see this on-going partnership, and I hope that I can contribute in a way that continues to sustain and build upon this work. I was very grateful to have the opportunity to meet virtually with Dr Priya and Dr Taranjit to learn more about their respective services and I am looking forward to meeting them in person, together with Dr Saini.
I am going with an open mind and an open heart, keen to share learning, skills, expertise and experiences with specialist colleagues. I have received such a warm welcome from the CGHP and Rama Foundation teams and would like to express my gratitude to Munish and Artika for their kindness and support in preparing for this visit. I look forward to being part of this continued collaboration, which is enabling us all to move forward with implementing initiatives and developments to achieve our shared goals of improving care and outcomes for patients.
- Log in to post comments