The government aims to provide palliative care services to all, including the elderly and differently abled, who do not have serious illnesses but still require regular care.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Tuesday that the idea of expanding palliative care as a home care scheme across the state is to provide services without rural/urban or APL/BPL divide.
He was addressing a meeting of state palliative care agencies regarding the government’s plan to integrate all palliative care services in the state on a single platform.
He also sought the help of non-governmental organizations providing palliative care services to increase the number of home care units providing palliative care services in the state so that better care can be provided to those who need it.
1,142 primary units
Currently, there are 1,142 primary palliative home care units in the government sector, with trained community palliative care nurses (appointed by the concerned local self-government (LSG) bodies) caring for 1,14,439 patients.
The government is trying to increase the number of home care units providing palliative care services to one home care unit for every 20,000 population as envisaged in the state action plan, he said.
The state’s Comprehensive Palliative Care Provision Action Plan will be launched through a campaign starting on January 1, 2025.
The government intends to establish a palliative care grid of all service-providing agencies, which will be linked with telemedicine facilities. The state’s Viomithram scheme, which provides aged care services, will also be linked with the domiciliary care scheme.
Registration
The authorities are also proceeding to provide registration for palliative home care units as per the guidelines, under the respective LSG bodies. The latter is asked to establish a registry of home care units and agencies providing palliative care services within its jurisdiction.
Registration will also be provided to 500 NGOs providing door-to-door treatment services. The criteria for registering such agencies has been prepared in consultation with palliative care units.
LSGs should ensure that all agencies providing palliative care services are registered to ensure accountability and also to ensure the health and safety of those receiving care.
Agencies providing medical or nursing services should also be registered under the Department of Health. All the registered agencies will be coordinated by the respective LSGs with the help of health and related departments.
LSGs are also asked to find volunteers willing to be part of the palliative care movement and provide them with adequate training to provide home care services. For that, the health department will provide trainers and training modules.
The government is also trying to extend palliative care services to private and public sector aged care homes and care homes that shelter the destitute.
At district and block-level, palliative care activities of LSG, social justice, health, and other departments will be coordinated under committees headed by respective ward members. Committees will hold review meetings every month
Biomedical wastes
Steps have also been taken to train people to collect waste from homes with patients who require daily medical care to separate and properly manage biomedical, pharmaceutical and chemical waste.
Instructions have been issued to keep color-coded collection bins for biomedical, pharmaceutical, chemical wastes as hazardous wastes in homes providing palliative care services. Facilities will be arranged to collect these wastes and take them to appropriate waste treatment centers.
Ministers MB Rajesh, Veena George, R Bindu, and Chief Secretary Sharda Muralidharan were also present in the meeting.
published – Dec 17, 2024 09:18 IST