THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a novel move, the City Corporation has launched its project to extend palliative care to the ailing in the city which was inaugurated by Mayor K Chandrika at the Fort Government Hospital on Tuesday. Under the project, palliative care volunteers trained by the Corporation would visit homes of cancer patients and others who need help physically and mentally to attend to their needs. The Corporation had planned the project under its annual plan in 2011-12 setting aside ` 19 lakh. Two volunteers from each ward will be given training in palliative care by a team of experts in the area. The project is being monitored by a committee chaired by the Mayor and palliative experts, including Dr M R Rajagopal of Pallium India. ‘’We have the support of a voluntary organisation engaged in palliative care to implement the project. It is a step by the Corporation to reach out to the ailing and the needy,’’ said S Pushpalatha, Health Standing Committee Chairperson. The project is being implemented in five hospitals, including Fort, Peroorkada, Poonthura and Nemom. The Corporation will shell out funds to buy pills for the patients for one-and-a-half months. Five vehicles will be given for the project in the five hospitals. Water-beds and other equipments for palliative care would be distributed. A two-member team consisting a nurse and a volunteer would pay visits to the patients’ houses even after they are discharged. The training for volunteers would continue on Wednesday also where another 50 people would receive training in palliative care.
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