Palliative Care Policy
Palliative care is an expanding branch of modern medicine in which the sufferings either by physical or by spiritual of patients are actively dealt with affection and empathy. The care starts as early as possible when pain and sufferings and it will continue to be a zone of comfort after the demise of the patient. The psychosocial and spiritual components of both patient and family are fuels for the upcoming grief and bereavement care.
A palliative care activist will always accompany the diseased, but that should not be a burn out for the activist. Really it is very hard to sit and hear and of course bear the colorless life stories.
Somebody said, “It is very easy to walk away rather than to sit and hear them”. As a palliative care activist we must be the niche of love, truth and tolerance. And we must add color and flavor to their life. Would anybody sacrifice their life for fellow men?
Once Abraham Lincoln told,
‘In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.’
Aims and Objectives
1. To provide almost total care for the patient with terminal illness of life threatening illness so as to reduce the burden of pain and sufferings.
2. To reduce the pain and sufferings of the victim of illness (physical as well as spiritual)
3. To arrange health care facilities for the patients and their family (especially when the bread winner is debilitated) in terms of monetary, equipments and education.
4. The rising of funds for the welfare of the patients and their support is taken into a paramount for which strong community participation is essential.
5. To ensure the community participation by means of social gatherings with other organizations, institutions, arts clubs and NGOs
6. The domiciliary care for the bed ridden, elderly debilitated and terminal disease should be strengthened and intensified by conducting Doctor led Home Care (DHC) and Nurse led Home Care (NHC) in every week on rotation.
7. The medicines are to be delivered to those who are unable to fetch it from centre.
8. The academic works like medical education, awareness seminars, training programs, various cultural programs etc. to promote health of society. It could be achieved only by an institution of palliative studies.
9. To seek aid from government funds and panchayath to smoothen the functioning of the system.
10. To look after the childrens of deceased at an early age and provide them education and rehabilitation.
11. To start vocational rehabilitation for eligible patients and their families (coir mattresses, horticorp, bakery, soap etc). it can be useful in reducing financial burden.
12. The hospice facility is of utmost importance to those elderly debilitated patients can have a home. To establish and administer a community based hospice centre in Kavaratti.
Categories of care
§ General Palliative Care for those with cancer, CVA, cardiac disease, diabetes etc
§ Geriatric Care (age more than 65)
§ Pediatric Palliative Care for those with CP, Polio etc
Health care delivery
§ Home care
o Doctor led twice weekly (DHC)
o Nurse led twice weekly in alteration (NHC)
o Drugs & supportive measures
§ Hospice care
o To locate, construct and administer the hospice
o Hospice policy
§ Hospital care
o Pain & Palliative care clinic to start on IGH and eventually spread it to all islands
o IP (5 beds) and OP
o Relevant investigations
§ Executive Director
§ Office Secretary
§ Accounts Officer
§ Program Coordinator
o Specialist – 1
o RMO - 1
o Clinical nurse consultant – 1
o Registered nursing practitioner – 1
§ ANMs/ ASHA – 2
§ Charitable basis
§ Government aid
§ Awareness programs
o Monthly programs
o Specialists from mainland
§ Training for volunteers
o 3 day program
§ Training of doctors and nurses
o With Pallium India
ü To hire a building for clinic
ü To attend the patient according to need
ü To strengthen home care visits
ü To start OP/IP in IGH (?)