Hospis Malaysia launches palliative care symbol and photography exhibition …
“Pain and suffering due to illness has been quoted by the UN as being worse than torture as the pain of torture can be relieved by the cessation of such an act. But the pain and suffering to those with illness requires an act of active intervention. We are thankful that the Malaysian government has seen it fit to provide access to opioids to Malaysian patients suffering from pain. Yet, despite the medication being available, Malaysia’s mean consumption of morphine in 2011 is 1.48mg / capita compared with the global rate of 6.11mg/ capita. We have to do better.”
Hospis Malaysia’s Chairman, Dato Richard Robless.
Full attendance at the official launch
Hospis Malaysia launched a symbol and photography exhibition. With the design of a symbol and a display of portraits of palliative care patients and local celebrities, this unique double initiative was designed to reach out to all Malaysians on raising awareness on palliative care on a national level.
The launch was graced by the attendance of guests of honour including YB Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, Minister of Health Malaysia; Baroness Ilora Finlay of Llandaff, professor of palliative medicine and member of The House of Lords in the UK, and Dr Yvonne Luxford, CEO, Palliative Care Australia.
YB Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam, Minister of Health Malaysia and Hospis Malaysia patient, Pn Hasmah Ibrahim unveil the new face of Palliative Care
Palliative care is a medical approach supported by the World Health Organisation (WHO) that seeks to improve the quality of life for patients and their families when diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. In fulfilling the aim of making this specific branch of medicine more understood and accessible, Hospis Malaysia along with communication partner RAPP Malaysia designed a symbol to represent “The New Face of Palliative Care”.
In spirit of the phrase “a picture paints a thousand words”, in addition to the symbol launch, a photography exhibition was launched and ran for 5 days at Publika Mall, Mont Kiara KL. Featuring solo portraits of various beloved local personalities such as Yasmin Yusuff, Sheila Majid, Sharifah Amani and Hans Isaac all styling the symbol in their own unique way, these household names lent their support to the campaign to help raise the profile of palliative care in Malaysia.
The New Face of Palliative Care
The photographs were taken by our very own accomplished Malaysian photographers including SC Shekar (for patient photos), a journalist, photographer and documentary-maker with 35 years of experience; and David Loke and his team from Studio DL (for celebrity portraits), a photo studio offering creative photography and imaging solutions.
Social media-enthusiasts were thrilled to see the digital attractions of the exhibition. First, visitors got to know the hospice patients a little better and could read their inspiring stories by scanning a QR Code with a smartphone. This re-directed users to this (palliativecare.my) website where they are able to read an entire write-up and background of the photos while looking at them at the exhibition. Next, a live-updated ‘Before I Die wall’ was also on display, and members of the public – whether at a remote location or while visiting the exhibition – could contribute to the event’s hashtag trend by tweeting a bucket list goal or lifelong aspiration with the hashtags #BeforeIDie, and #PalCareMY
The symbol and exhibition launch was supported by an array of partners and sponsors.
Those interested can get in touch with Hospis Malaysia online via the website at www.hospismalaysia.org or ‘Like’ the Facebook page at Palliative Care Malaysia