The first full-fledged pain management clinic was thrown open today at Government Medical College Srinagar today to cater to the needs of patients with persistent pains in various diseases including cancer.
Statingthat pains were the major cause of hospital visits, Dr Abdul Hameed , head ofthe department of anesthesia at GMC Srinagar said that pain clinic would be a”game changer” in the healthcare scenario of the State. “This is the first timewe are having an intervention pain clinic in the State. It will benefitpatients greatly,” he said.
Explainingthe ambit of work, he said that people with chronic and persistent pains suchas back pain, knee pain, shoulder pain, joint pain, migraines can be relieved of the pain with ultrasoundguided nerve blocks. The clinic also has means to intervene and provide reliefto cancer patients suffering from acute pain.
“Patients don’t need toendure pain anymore. We can relieve their pain with state-of-art techniques nowin Kashmir,” he said.
Ultrasound guided nerveblocks, Prof Hameed said, will ease the pain for days to months unlike oral orintravenous drugs which have action for some hours only. “In this method, themedicine is delivered right on the nerve that is affected,” he said.
Thecenter, located near GMC’s J&K Bank outlet has four beds for daycarefacilities. The facilities would be available six days a week. Three doctorsand two nurses trained in palliative care at AIIMS New Delhi would be availableto the patients.
The clinic was inauguratedby principal GMC Prof Samia Rashid. Hailing the department for its endeavor toalleviate pain of patients she said, “with this service available here, ourpatients will be saved from the hassle of travelling outside the state for painmanagement.”
The department aims tostart palliative care services for terminally ill patients.
Theinaugural was followed by a workshop titled ‘Role of Anesthesia in Anesthesiaand Critical Care’ wherein Dr Rupinder Singh DMC Ludhiana and Dr Dalim Kumarfrom AIIMS Delhi demonstrated latest techniques in USG and its application inanesthesia.
Prof Rukhsana Najeeb wasorganising secretary of the event while Dr Muhammad Ommid was the eventcoordinator.