Sparsh Hospice provides Palliative Care

Sparsh Hospice provides Palliative Care

Palliative care is specialized medical care for people with serious illness. It is the care extended to the terminally ill cancer patients.  Once the cancer is termed as ‘Terminal’ it means that the life of that patient will end soon and no curative treatment is possible. Hence in this stage, it is deemed fit to concentrate in improving the quality of life and lessening the suffering rather than trying to prolong life with toxic treatments. This is the concept of ‘palliative Care’. A hospice is a place where patients with terminal illnesses are provided palliative care.

 

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is a unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.

 

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day takes place on the second Saturday of October every year. And it is observed all over the world.

 

The day is observed to share its vision to increase the availability of hospice and palliative care, to raise awareness and understanding of the needs—medical, social, practical of the people and to raise funds to support and develop hospice and palliative care services.

 

 To mark the occasion a Walk was organized today morning from KBR Park to Basavatharakam Cancer Hospital by 50 members, Sparsh Hospice supporters, Rotary members, and others associated with the Center.

 

At the Basavatharakam Cancer Hospital, the walk stopped and interacted with the family members of the cancer patients stationed there and explained them the free Palliative Care Support Sparsh Hospice for so many years.

 

Later they all met at Sparsh Hospice facility at Road No. 12, Banajara Hills, where they invited the family members of the diseased Cancer Patients who availed facilities at the center.  The families recounted their sorrowful and painful journey during the last days of the diseased patients and the free palliative care and support provided by the Sparsh Hospice. This program was organized to create awareness for the free palliative care provided by the Sparsh Hospice.

 

Sparsh Hospice is the Palliative Care Center which is an initiative of Rotary Club of Banjara Hills Charitable Trust. Sparsh Hospice is currently located in a rental place in Road No. 12, Banjara Hills is a 12 bedded facility and is the first Hospice in our state.

 

Palliative care at Sparsh involves physical, emotional and spiritual care, with a team of trained doctors, nursing staff, physiotherapists, counselors and spiritual guides. And this is the free service.  It also provides home care services. Till date it has given service to more than 800 in patients free of cost and more than 350 home visits.

 

It spends little over Rs 5 lakh to run the facility each month.  All these funds are mobilized through the donations from individual philanthropists and corporate under CSR initiatives

 

Sparsh Hospice is now planning to expand and set up 50 bedded Hospice centre for free service for the terminally ill cancer patients. KT Rama Rao has laid a foundation stone in June for the facility at Khajaguda on Nanakramguda Road in Sherlingampally Mandal. Telangana State Government allocated one acre land to Sparsh Hospice on 33years lease.

 

Each year in Hyderabad nearly 12,000 patients are at a terminal stage of cancer.  More palliative care is required. Only 0.5 Per cent of the population gets the benefit from palliative care and relief.

 

It is a known fact that Cancer is on the rise in our Country and according to WHO, 1 in 4 Cancer patients in the world are from India. About 10, 00,000 cases (ten lakhs) of Cancer are diagnosed in India each year and of this number, about 12,000 per year are from Hyderabad alone. It is also well known that more than 70% of Cancer patients are at an advanced stage at diagnosis itself.