The service currently covers Bengaluru within a radius of about 40 km from the institute and is delivered through two dedicated teams conducting daily home visits.
Home-based palliative care services introduced by the State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) have received a positive response, with 112 patients availing the facility since its launch on March 3.
The initiative, aimed at supporting terminally ill cancer patients unable to travel for follow-up care, is being implemented under a programme that combines home visits with telemedicine support.
M.K. Yadhuraj, who heads the Department of Pain and Palliative Medicine at Kidwai, told The Hindu that the service currently covers Bengaluru within a radius of about 40 km from the institute and is delivered through two dedicated teams conducting daily home visits. Each team comprises a palliative care physician, nurse, social worker, physiotherapist and support staff, who provide comprehensive care at patients’ doorsteps, he said.
All required medicines, drugs and consumables are supplied free of cost by the institute and delivered directly to patients during home visits. Following the visits, patients are monitored through telemedicine consultations, with subsequent home visits scheduled based on clinical need. In addition to routine consultation and symptom management, the teams are also performing procedures that were earlier largely limited to hospital settings, the doctor said.
The service, supported under Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funding, is intended for patients who have already undergone treatment at Kidwai but find it difficult to return for follow-up care.
Helplines
A helpline, ‘Neravina Kare’ (90084 41708), has been set up to facilitate access to the service, along with teleconsultation based on urgency. Patients from across the State can call this number for telemedicine support. For home-based palliative care, available only in Bengaluru as of now, patients can call 91875 90629 and register.
Dr. Yadhuraj said more than 250 patients have registered so far since March 3, reflecting the growing demand. The institute, which sees between 2,500 and 3,000 outpatients daily and admits 650 to 750 inpatients, registers around 23,000 new cancer cases every year, while over 3.7 lakh patients visit for follow-up treatment.
Nearly 20% of these patients face difficulty in travelling to the hospital, underscoring the need for such home-based care services.
Pain management
Kidwai director (additional charge) Naveen T. said the initiative has helped improve quality of life for patients by managing pain and symptoms in a familiar environment, while also reducing the physical and emotional strain associated with repeated hospital visits. The programme is expected to ease the burden on both patients’ families and hospital infrastructure, he said.
Plans are under way to expand the service across Greater Bengaluru area by increasing the number of teams to four in the next phase, with a long-term goal of scaling up to five teams covering south, north, east, west and central zones of the city. The institute is also working on developing a dedicated mobile application to streamline access to home-based palliative care services.
The expansion, Dr. Yadhuraj said, is aimed at ensuring more equitable and accessible palliative care across the city, while strengthening continuity of care through a combination of in-person visits and telemedicine support.
source/content: thehindu.com (headline edited)