KARACHI: Palliative care, part of which is end-of-life care, should be focused at providing physical and psychological relief to patients. Physicians can choose a certain treatment for the betterment of a patient if they aren’t mentally capable to make the right decision for themselves.

This was stated by renowned religious scholar Mufti Mohammad Taqi Usmani, who was invited as a keynote speaker during an awareness session on the topic ‘Palliative care: the Islamic Perspective’ organised at the Indus Hospital (IH) on Thursday.

Explaining the need for the programme, Dr Shamvil Ashraf, medical director of the Indus Health Network (IHN), said that the aim was to bridge the gap between medical practices and Islamic principles on palliative care and create awareness among the health staff of how they could make the best decision for patients.

Physicians, he pointed out, often faced complex situations where they needed to make a decision whether treatment being provided to a patient in serious condition should be continued or withdrawn.

Palliative care, he said, was not just about end-of-life care; patient might receive palliative care earlier in treatment while they were still receiving other therapies.

Mufti Taqi Usmani enlightened the audience about the religious perspective of medical care and compassion. He said: “If a medical practitioner serves a patient, he receives blessings from the Almighty and this rule is for all patients, irrespective of their faith and religion. Anyone who eases the pain of a human deserves those blessings.”

He informed the audience that the concept of providing palliative and end-of-life care was in line with the Islamic principles of healing.

On illness and Islam, he said: “Islam has encouraged a healthy lifestyle and adoption of precautionary measures. Nobody should pray for illness and if someone falls ill the patient is required to seek medical assistance. Patients, however, can’t be forced to take treatment and they have the right to refuse.”

On the use of morphine (a pain medication of opiate variety), he said that if there was no other alternative, than morphine could be used to alleviate patient’s sufferings as Islam had allowed use of products otherwise forbidden under circumstances which involved saving a life.

“If there are other treatment options available then the patient should choose the less painful method. Physicians should always treat patients with compassion and console the family as well,” he said.

The speech was followed by a panel discussion which was participated by Dr Atif Waqar of Aga Khan University, Dr Haroon Hafeez of Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre and Dr Junaid Patel of IHN.

Responding to a question, Mufti Usmani said that if doctors looking after a patient reached the conclusion that the patient showed no indications of recovery, it was very much in line with Islamic principles that the patient was removed from the artificial support system.

Dr Syed Ahmer Hamid, chair paediatrics services at IHN, moderated the session.

Published in Dawn, June 2nd, 2018