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This Month’s Profile
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Dr JP Rathi
Ayurveda Acharya
Ganga Prem Hospice
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| Dr JP Rathi at
the Ganga Prem Hospice clinic |
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Dr JP Rathi has been offering his consultations
as an Ayurvedacharya to Ganga Prem Hospice patients
since early 2009. An experienced Ayurvedic practitioner,
who is also well-versed with Allopathy, Dr Rathi
has been living in Rishikesh since 1982 after
he completed his formal professional studies in
Ayurveda. “I decided to live in Rishikesh
as I found it to be a very peaceful place”,
says Dr JP Rathi, who is originally from Bijnor
in Uttar Pradesh.
“At the Ganga Prem Hospice clinic, I find
that cancer patients tend to have reduced immunity
and some Ayurvedic medicines can be particularly
useful in building the body’s immunity”,
says the Ayurvedacharya who sits across the table
with the Ganga Prem Hospice oncologist, Dr AK
Dewan, and advises patients on their symptoms.
Dr JP Rathi’s work as a consulting Ayurvedacharya
in the Parmarth Niketan in Rishikesh has given
him ample experience to deal with patients via
Ayurveda as well as through Allopathy. “I
came to know about Ganga Prem Hospice when I saw
a banner announcing the free of charge cancer
clinic in Rishikesh. I was intrigued and happy
to see that cancer patients were being given service
and decided to join in at the clinic”, explains
Dr Rathi about how he decided to offer his services
to the Hospice monthly cancer clinics. A warm
and simple person, Dr Rathi is always quick to
help patients in whatever way he can, at the clinic.
Ganga Prem Hospice Team
Our team includes patients,
families, friends, medical professionals, nurses,
social workers, volunteers, spiritual advisors
and our support team.
Our team is gradually growing but, as we are still
a small team and do not have all the staff that
we will need in the future, most of our members
work in more than one capacity. The main categories
of the team are as follows:
1. The Patient and his
Family and Friends
An important theme of palliative medicine is that
the patient is the focus of care. At Ganga Prem
Hospice the patients are, therefore, given repeated
opportunities to actively participate in team
decision-making. Not doing so can result in care
plans that are inappropriate and less likely to
answer the patient’s needs. For the same
reason the patient’s family and friends are
also important members of the team.
2. Medical Professionals
The professional palliative care team at the in
patient facility of Ganga Prem Hospice will include
cancer specialists, general practitioners or regional
medical officers, non-allopathic specialists and
therapists who will be full time or part time
workers associated with the hospice.
The cancer specialists are in overall charge
of the hospice and address medical as well as
administrative issues. Other medical and secretarial
staff will form part of their team.
a) The Medical Director of Ganga Prem Hospice:
Dr. A.K. Dewan, M.S. M.Ch.(Surgical Oncology)
Other cancer specialists: Dr. D.C. Doval, Dr.
A. Goil
Other doctors: Dr. (Mrs.) Rupali Dewan (gynaecologist)
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