The Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care team in Timor Leste returned to Dili to conduct the third of six training modules from 29 July to 2 August. The team comprised Dr Sylvia McCarthy (Malaysia), Dr Dipti Mittal (AuThe Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care team in Timor Leste returned to Dili to conduct the third of six training modules from 29 July to 2 August. The team comprised Dr Sylvia McCarthy (Malaysia), Dr Dipti Mittal (Australia), Ms Rachel Stephen (Malaysia), and Ms Joan Ryan (Australia), along with Mr Giam Cheong Leong (Singapore), the APHN Executive Director, and Ms Trudy Giam (Singapore), APHN Executive.

The program commenced with an opening ceremony at Hospital Lahane, organised by the National Directorate of Hospital Support Services (DNASH). During the ceremony, we were pleased to learn that Hospital Lahane will be the first of three palliative care centers to be launched in Timor-Leste. This development underscores the significant impact of our program and reflects the Ministry of Health’s commitment to enhancing the quality of life for the Timorese people.

Dr. Flávio Brandão Mendes de Araújo, Vice-Minister for Hospital Operations (VMOH-Portuguese), officially opened the ceremony by expressing gratitude to the healthcare personnel dedicated to palliative care services. He urged them to become leaders and advocates for palliative care in the country. In his speech, he emphasized, ‘This training initiative is the beginning of our effort to ensure healthcare personnel understand palliative care services comprehensively. Otherwise, people might think palliative care is only for terminal phases, but it also involves providing dignified recovery and assistance to patients.‘

Following the ceremony, the training began with participants from various districts presenting case studies they had prepared. The session included 21 healthcare professionals from Dili and five District Referral Hospitals—Baucau Regional Hospital, Maliana Referral Hospital, Maubisse Referral Hospital, Oe-cusse Referral Hospital, and Suai Referral Hospital. This exercise allowed them to share observations and enabled the faculty to assess how well participants had applied the knowledge gained from previous modules.

On the second day, Dr Dipti Mittal conducted the Essential Pain Management (EPM) Workshop, focusing on the RAT System: Recognize, Assess, and Treat. Participants engaged in group discussions and learned practical approaches to pain management.

Days three and four were dedicated to case-based learning, where the faculty presented on the assessment and management of conditions such as head and neck cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cervical cancer, and malignant bowel obstruction.

The final day of training included an interactive session led by Dr Mittal, where participants shared what they had learned and discussed how they planned to apply their new knowledge.

This was followed by a revision session covering key points before the week concluded with a closing ceremony.

With the completion of this third module, we are now halfway through the Lien Collaborative for Palliative Care Timor-Leste program. The continued enthusiasm of returning participants and the upcoming launches of palliative care centers highlight the growing impact of this initiative.

Written by Ms Trudy Giam (APHN )