A Palliative Care chamber and wards were inaugurated at Pradhama Hospital by director of Karur Vysya Bank V.G. Mohan Prasad on Friday. He appreciated the hospital management for brining palliative care facilities for the first time in AP.
Dr. P. Visweswara Rao, MD of the hospital, said Kerala was the only State, where there was lot of awareness among public. A medical team of the hospital would be undergoing a training programme in palliative care in Kerala. He also said that ‘assisted-living’ services would soon be launched at the hospital.
Dr. N.S. Raju, chief palliative care consultant of Pradhama Hospital, said degenerative diseases like neurological disorders and organ failures and cancers in advanced stages though incurable, the situation could be managed to improve the quality of life of patient. It would keep the patients from distress.
Making available drugs, training doctors and creating awareness among the general public was the three important factors, which need immediate attention. Around 800 organisations were working for provision of palliative care services in Kerala, while the number was a mere 150 in the rest of the country.
The facility at St. Joseph’s Hospital, being offered by Sneha Sandhya, was only one in AP so far.
Chairman of Age Care Foundation TVS Rao said Sneha Sandhya, NGO, was providing palliative care at St. Joseph’s Hospital in association with the hospital in a small way in the city. Apart from this, there was no other hospital providing palliative care in AP. While commending Pradhama Hospital for becoming the first hospital in AP in the private sector to start the facility, he appealed to other hospitals also to launch the facility.
Dr. Vidya Viswanath, of Dr. Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, said patients suffering from chronic illnesses were being refused admission at hospitals. This was because the hospitals do not have trained doctors to treat such patients. She also underlined the need for awareness among the people on the subject.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Acharya Nagarjuna University V. Balmohan Das, who participated as a guest, described palliative care as “moderating pain by making it easier for the patient to bear”. He underlined the need for the State government to introduce it in government hospitals apart from extending subsidies, if necessary, to private hospitals offering the same.
