The Palliative Care movement in the district is set to get a boost with the members of the Kudumbashree offering their helping hand. The Health and Family Welfare department, in association with the Kudumbashree, will launch a campaign to strengthen palliative care from Sunday.
The campaign named ‘Njanundu Paricharanathinu’, meaning ‘I am there for care’, will involve special neighbourhood meetings in all panchayats and a special awareness drive.
The Kudumbashree in the district had already begun associating with the Palliative Care movement in a project named Hridya.
Kudumbashree volunteers will ensure that no terminally ill patient in their respective neighbourhood is missed out of the new campaign. The patients will be identified and care and support will be ensured for them.
Special neighbourhood meetings to be convened on Sunday (January 21) will read out the palliative care message, reassuring that each Kudumbashree member will volunteer to offer care and support for the terminally ill patients.
The Health department will ensure the support of the Kudumbashree through ASHA workers. Kudumbashree district mission coordinator Jafar K. Kakkooth said that proper coordination would be ensured for the benefit of the patients.
Mr. Kakkooth said that efforts would be made to ensure the presence of a trained volunteer in the neighbourhood of each terminally ill patient.
He said the new campaign will succeed in the district because Kudumbashree volunteers were already involved in palliative care under the scheme Hridya. “People in the district are by and large aware of the importance of palliative care. Therefore, we will not have any difficulty in the new campaign,” said Mr. Kakkooth.
