Nationality Indian Role Physician Name M. Rajagopal | Profession Doctor of medicine Years active 1994 – present Specialism Anesthesiology | |
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Born 23 September 1947 ( 1947-09-23 ) Trivandrum, Kerala, India. Education Medical graduation from Medical College, Trivandrum. Post graduate from All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi. Known for Pioneer in Palliative Medicine in India Institutions Medical College, Trivandrum; Medical College, Calicut; Pain and Palliative Care Society, Calicut; Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Trivandrum Nominations CNN-IBN Indian of the Year in Public Service Institution Government Medical College, Kozhikode | ||
Dr M R Rajagopal, Chairman, Pallium India, Kerala
M. R. Rajagopal, MD, (born 23 September 1947) is an Indian palliative care physician. He is the founder chairman of Pallium India, a palliative care non-governmental organisation based in Kerala, India. He is often referred to as the 'father of palliative care in India' in honour of his significant contribution to the palliative care scene in India.
Contents
- Dr M R Rajagopal Chairman Pallium India Kerala
- Positions held
- Achievements
- Awards and honours
- References
Rajagopal's advocacy has contributed to amendment of Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of India in 2014 and in its implementation—a critical step in reducing needless suffering and allowing millions to access pain relief. He was also the prime mover in the creation of the National Program for Palliative Care (NPPC) by the Ministry of Health of Government of India. In 2014, Rajagopal was honored by Human Rights Watch with Alison Des Forges Award for Extraordinary Activism, in recognition of his tireless efforts to defend the right of patients to live and die with dignity.
Positions held
Rajagopal holds the following positions:
Rajagopal is on the editorial board of several international journals and has authored/edited two textbooks, several book chapters (including Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine) and more than 30 publications in scientific journals.
Current involvement with scientific journals:
Achievements
Rajagopal is one of the founders of Pain and Palliative Care Society (PPCS) in Medical College, Calicut, in 1993. In 1995, PPCS was recognized as a model demonstration project by the World Health Organisation, known for its suitability to the socio-cultural needs of the country, for its novel training programs and for its roots in the community. Over ten years, it developed into the biggest Palliative Care Centre in the country incorporating a major “Institute of Palliative Medicine” (IPM), with more than 60 link centres in various parts of Kerala.
Since 1996, Rajagopal has been working with the WHO Collaborating Center at Madison-Wisconsin and with Government of India to improve opioid availability in India. The work has so far resulted in simplification of narcotic regulations in 13 states in India as well as in uninterrupted availability of oral morphine from the Government Opium and Alkaloid factories in India.
In 2003, he with his colleagues created Pallium India, a registered charitable trust with the intention of spreading palliative care to areas in India where they did not exist, and for palliative care advocacy. In 2016, the organization has reached 15 of India's 29 states. In 2006, Pallium India created the Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences as its training, research and clinical demonstration unit. In 2012, this was declared a WHO Collaborating Centre.
Rajagopal is a prime mover in the development of the document, “National Standards for Palliative Care in India” in 2006-2008.
Rajagopal's contribution has been significant in bringing the Parliament of India to amend the draconian Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act of 1985. The Amendment was passed in 2014 Feb.
Rajagopal introduced Incident Monitoring as a method of medical auditing in Anaesthesiology in Calicut, which was later spread to other institutions, thereby improving quality and safety of anaesthetic practice in the region and later in Amrita Institute of Medical Sciences. In collaboration with the Department of Paediatric Surgery, Medical College, Trivandrum, Rajagopal undertook a study on “Mortality in Major Neonatal Surgery” between 1976 and 1980. During this period, mortality after major neonatal surgery could be brought down from 75% to 28%. Rajagopal organised anaesthesia service for open-heart surgery in Medical College, Trivandrum, Kerala in 1978.
Awards and honours
Rajagopal has been honoured with the following awards and recognitions: