Dr Bimla Sharma is a Senior Consultant with about 40 years of clinical experience at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. She is the Chairperson of the Department of Palliative Medicine at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital since its inception in 2021. She is a postgraduate teacher and an examiner with the National Board of Examination, and also serves as an MD examiner. She has extensive experience in palliative care and pain management, and provides comprehensive support to patients with cancer and other life limiting and serious illnesses. Her focus is on improving quality of life through expert symptom management, compassionate care, and emotional and psychosocial support for both patients and their families, with the help of a multidisciplinary treatment approach.
The main symptoms that need special attention in palliative care are pain, breathlessness, fatigue, nausea, anxiety, depression, and other distressing symptoms. The focus is also on providing holistic care to patients and empowering families and other caregivers in looking after patients and taking care of themselves. She has played and active role in formulating the “End of Life Care” policy for the hospital. Great emphasis is laid on clear, compassionate communication regarding diagnosis, prognosis, treatment options, and patients' goals of care. Shared decision-making is supported by aligning medical treatments with patients' values and preferences while respecting autonomy and cultural beliefs. Advance care planning discussions, including advance medical directives or living will and end-of-life care preferences, are also carried out. The department works within a multidisciplinary team in collaboration with medical oncologists, radiation oncologists, surgeons, physicians, intensivists, physiotherapists, dietitians, and the Reach Out department.
