Palliative Care in North India
About the tour
India is a land like no other in the richness and diversity of its people, its culture and its history. It is home to one of the world’s oldest religions and some of its most beautiful man made structures, spectacular landscapes and wildlife and a vibrant and colourful society clinging to ancient traditions whilst embracing the modern world.
This tour starts in Delhi, a city where Mughal and colonial history rub shoulders alongside a vibrant contemporary culture. Continue to the pink city of Jaipur, onto Agra, dominated by the majestic Taj Mahal, to colonial Lucknow and the great spiritual centre of Varanasi, where life and death meet. The tour finishes in the Bengali capital of Kolkata, rich in literature and culture and the first capital of the British Raj. The varied cultural programme is balanced by a wide-ranging professional itinerary of visits, talks and meetings with palliative care practitioners in both rural and urban India.
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Your tour leader
David Oliviere
David Oliviere is a consultant in psychosocial palliative care, a social worker, an educationalist and a clinical supervisor. He is former director of Education and Training at St Christopher’s Hospice in London and visiting professor at the School of Education and Health Sciences at Middlesex University.
David trained at Nottingham University in social administration and social work. With a background in psychiatric social work and management in the personal social services, David was involved in founding Pilgrim’s Hospice, Canterbury, before joining the North London Hospice as Director of Social Work. Subsequently, David worked as Community Care Advisor for ethnic minorities and refugees, London Borough of Enfield, and as Macmillan Principal Lecturer in Palliative Care at Middlesex University, whilst practising at the Macmillan Support Team in Barnet Hospital.
David has contributed to several publications, spoken internationally and has jointly edited a number of books including, “Good Practices in Psychosocial Care”, “Loss, grief and bereavement”, “Patient Participant in Palliative Care”, “Resilience in Palliative Care”, “Death, Dying and Social Differences” and “Narratives and Stories in Palliative Care”.
He currently practises as a couple and bereavement counsellor and professional interests include work with families in palliative care; culture and ethnicity; staff support; bereavement; and strength-based approaches. He is joint lead for a new theatre project in palliative care education, “Stories That Speak”.
Need more information?
- Tel: (Toll Free) 1-8777-398-764
- Mon-Fri: 9am-5pm
Itinerary at a glance
- Day 1: Delhi (Sun, 26 Feb) Arrive Delhi and settle in before a welcome dinner in the evening.
- Day 2: Delhi (Mon, 27 Feb) Hear a background talk on “Palliative Care – the International Context”. Visit CanSupport for an overview of palliative care in India. Lunch hosted by CanSupport - meet some of their volunteers. Orientation tour of New Delhi. Visit the Shanti Avedna Sedan Hospice.
- Day 3: Delhi (Tues, 28 Feb) Board metro train to visit the All India Institute Of Medical Science (AIIMS) Palliative Care Department and meet clinicians and social workers. Following visit to AIIMS, optional early afternoon Specialist Palliative Nursing seminar (open to all), led by senior nurses from CanSupport and AIIMS. Sightseeing tour of Old Delhi. Walk through the narrow lanes of the Chadni Chowk, visit the spice market and walk along Jeweller's Lane. Return to hotel by metro.
- Day 4: Delhi / Jaipur (Wed, 1 March) Drive to Jaipur. At leisure. Option to visit the textile and jewellery bazaars of Jaipur.
- Day 5: Jaipur (Thurs, 2 March) Visit Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, palliative care service and meet with Dr Anjum Joad. Visit to the Chakrapati Ayurvedic Centre and learn about traditional approaches to pain relief. Return to the hotel via the Palace of the Winds and Jantar Mantar Observatory.
- Day 6: Jaipur (Fri, 3 March) Visit magnificent Amber Fort and the City Palace Museum. Afternoon at leisure.
- Day 7: Jaipur / Agra (Sat, 4 March) Drive to the bird sanctuary of Bharatpur and explore on a walking tour. Explore the ancient abandoned city of Fatepur Sikri. Drive to Agra and transfer to the hotel. At leisure.
- Day 8: Agra / Lucknow (Sun, 5 March) Early morning visit to the Taj Mahal. Return for breakfast. Drive to Lucknow. Arrive late afternoon and at leisure.
- Day 9: Lucknow (Mon, 6 March) Visit the Lucknow Residency and the Bara Imanbara. Drive by tongas (horse drawn carriages) to Hussainbad Complex. Optional evening culinary tour of Rumi Darwaza (the Lucknow markets).
- Day 10: Lucknow / Varanasi (Tues, 7 March) Drive to Varanasi. Arrive Varanasi and transfer to the hotel. In the evening take rickshaws to the river and visit the ghats of the Ganges.
- Day 11: Varanasi (Wed, 8 March) Rise at dawn for Ganges cruise to see pilgrims offering puja. Walk back through the old town of Benares to the hotel for breakfast. See the Golden Temple and visit the Bharat Mata Mandir. Afternoon at leisure in Varanasi.
- Day 12: Varanasi / Calcutta (Thurs, 9 March) Visit the pain and palliative care unit at Benares Hindu University and learn about traditional cultural beliefs of death and dying. Afternoon at leisure. Evening flight to Kolkata. Arrive and transfer to the hotel.
- Day 13: Calcutta (Fri, 10 Mar) Drive out to Thakurpukur and visit the Saroj Gupta Cancer Centre & Research Institute. At leisure in Kolkata.
- Day 14: Calcutta (Sat, 11 Mar) Sightseeing walk through old Kolkata, including the Writer’s Building. Visit the Victoria Memorial and the Maidan. Visit the Anglican Cathedral, Park Street Cemetery, Mother Theresa Museum. Farewell dinner in the evening.
- Day 15: Calcutta (Sun, 12 Mar) Depart for airport for flight home.
Tour cost
$3,995 per person sharing / $4,990 solo occupancy (ground only excluding international flights and airport transfers)