The Hindu 05.09.2013
Palliative care to the doorstep
Attingal municipality’s ‘Palliative care at doorstep’ programme aims to ensure support to terminally ill persons within the municipality limits. The programme makes use of the services of a trained nurse and volunteers.
Vice-chairman of the Municipality M. Pradeep said the programme was launched two weeks ago.
A survey was conducted by accredited social health activists (ASHA) volunteers and they identified as many as 49 terminally sick persons in Attingal area who needed home care, he said.
A trained nurse along with the volunteers would visit the homes of these 49 persons once a week and provide a range of healthcare services such as checking of blood pressure and temperature; cleaning and dressing wounds; and administering of pain killers, he said.
“The volunteers are selected from areas nearer to the patient resides. The workers, besides attending to the needs of the patients, also give training to caregivers to attend to the basic needs of the terminally ill person. The volunteers make daily visits to the homes of those patients who have none to attend to them,” he said.
The civic body also provides its ambulance to shift patients to the Government Medical College Hospital and Regional Cancer Centre for treatment.
Under the Attingal municipality’s programme, a trained nnurse and volunteers will visit the homes of those in need of care.
