By J.N. Jagannath | President, Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society
Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society
Annual Report FY2018-19 ( 1st April 2018 to 31st March 2019)
It is indeed a pleasure to chronicle this extraordinary journey of Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society year after year. Every year is equally momentous and significant with goal posts getting shifted further and further. The year 2018-19 has been no exception.
The year saw consolidation in all the existing programs even while the members of the society were busy implementing the District Palliative Care Centres program in eight districts of Telangana State. The society can proudly declare that it has successfully established Palliative Care Centres in 8 District/Area/Teaching hospitals spread across the state from Adilabad to Khammam. This work involved daily coordination with District Collectors, Medical Superintendants and Civil contractors apart from recruiting and training 112 staff consisting of Doctors, Nurses, Physiotherapists Ayammas and others. All the 8 centres became fully functional and found wide spread patronage with hundreds of patients visiting them every day. The centres were finally handed over to the District Medical Authorities on 31st March 2019. It is indeed a feather in the cap of the society to have successfully completed such a monumental and gigantic task and that too entirely on a voluntary basis.
Meanwhile, all the other programs went on smoothly and seamlessly with Room 34 of MNJ Government Cancer Hospital serving as the nerve centre. In a nutshell the society is presently running the following programs:
1. 21 Bed Kumudini Devi Hospice in Kukatpally where on an average 60 patients get admitted every month.
2. Home care program in the city of Hyderabad and surrounding areas with 5 vans caring for 300 plus patients on any given day averaging between 18-20 visits/day.
3. A unique Pediatric Palliative Care program embedded in the Oncology unit of MNJ Cancer Hospital looking after children’s’ need and support while undergoing cancer treatment which is now going to be extended to the neighbouring Niloufer children’s hospital to care for non-cancer palliative care needs.
4. Supporting activities of Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine in MNJ Government Cancer Hospital.
5. Training, education and advocacy in the field of Palliative Care. Conducting six weeks certificate course in pain and palliative medicine/nursing in association with MNJ Cancer Hospital.
6. Supporting Home care program in Vishakapatnam being run by Age Care Foundation.
7. Conducting a virtual training program under the ECHO umbrella in which participants from both national and international locations join and undergo continuing medical education in niche subjects like pediatric palliative care etc.
8. A unique oral cancer early detection project is also underway in partnership with Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration using the latest medical equipment called Velscope to detect oral cancers in the rural set ups.
The society has on its rolls a dedicated, committed and well trained staff consisting of 10 Doctors, 22 nurses, 6 social workers and 30 other supporting staff rolling out all the above programs. The fact that all the society’s services are being offered entirely free of cost is a matter of great pride to all of us and also a tribute to the generosity of our institutional and individual donors both big and small.
In keeping with our past trends of ever expanding the palliative care services even while running the existing services, the society signed an MOU with Government General Hospital, Kurnool to start a Palliative Care centre which was inaugurated on 18th May 2019. While the entire infrastructure for the centre is provided by the Hospital, the salaries of the staff are being borne by PRPCS. The centre in Kurnool consists of an 8 bed in-patient facility in the hospital premises and home care program covering the city of Kurnool and surrounding areas along with out-patient services. Presently there are no palliative and end of life care facility in Kurnool and its surrounding areas and hence we expect this centre which will be the first of its kind in the state of Andhra Pradesh to play a major role in not only taking care of the needs of those suffering from end stage diseases like cancer but also be a role model for Government Hospitals in other districts to emulate.
PERFORMANCE STATISTICS: FY2018-19
Kumudini Devi Hospice:
No. of admissions – 741
Male- 346
Female- 359
Children- 36
Home Care Program:
Total Number of Registrations- 574
New visits- 571
Review visits – 3136
Total visits- 3692
Pediatric Palliative Care Program:
New patients- 306
Patients Review - 6057
Total – 6363
Supporting Department of Pain and Palliative Care, MNJ Government Cancer Hospital
New Patients - 4238
Review patients – 17621
Behind these figures and statistics lie extraordinary stories of hope, courage, love and compassion. These are not mere patients but are mortal beings who will not go back to their previous lives and have to deal with the ultimate reality of life ending in the near future. To care for such patients calls for qualities which are rarely found among most of us. No words can effectively describe and capture the dedication and selfless service of our staff of Doctors, Nurses, Social workers, Physiotherapists and so many others who work tirelessly and reach out to the patient and their caregivers for providing both care, comfort and dignity in the last stages of their lives.
Statement of Annual Expenditure- Program Wise
Total Expenditure – Rs. 1,76,58,841
All the above achievements would not have been possible but for the consistent financial support being received from our major partners Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration, Value Labs, Roshni Trust, HPPC Trust, United Care Development Services, Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, Viruj Pharmaceuticals, Ocean Sparkle Ltd, Delta Technologies, GlobalGiving, Helpage India, Infor India, Fernandez Hospital, Estate of Narandas Lakhani, Unicorn Natural Products Ltd, Deloitte, Karvy, BHEL, Family of Late. Smt. V. Lalitha Kumari, Family of Justice Sri. Jagannadha Rao, Sri. Pankaj Dara, Sri. S. Kamalakar Sharma, Sri. Vijay Kumar, Sri. Ramananda Swamy, Robinhood team, Family of Smt. Suneetha and countless other individual donors, both big and small. A special mention of Sivananda Rehabilitation Home and MNJ Cancer Hospital who have provided the infrastructure and space for running the hospice and home care programs respectively.
It is said that if you embark on doing selfless work which helps the poor and the sick and the needy, the universe extends its unstinted support. The story of Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society provides ample proof to this saying. The fact that we are providing all our services entirely free-of-cost is nothing short of a miracle of which all of us are truly proud!
‘The woods are lovely, dark and deep,
But I have promises to keep,
And miles to go before I sleep,’- Robert Frost
This aptly sums up the journey of Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society
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