KOCHI: The district health department has launched an initiative to support the caregivers of palliative patients in the district. Sneha Nilaav aims to provide psycho-social support for bystanders and family members of patients who require palliative care.
According to an official with the health department, the pain and palliative care volunteers are trained to provide basic psycho-social support.
“The volunteers of pain and palliative care units of our hospitals have been visiting patients at their residences to provide care and meet their family members. We have trained these volunteers to give basic mental health support.
If the relatives of a patient require expert assistance, the psycho-social support givers with the mental health programme will provide counselling and other services to them to ensure mental health support,” said the official.
At the event held at the Ernakulam General Hospital, collector NSK Umesh also launched the initiative ‘Manasoukhyathil Ninnum Janasoukhyathilek,’ the district mental health programme to observe World Mental Health Day. Dr Asha Devi, district medical officer, Dr Shahir Shah, superintendent of Ernakulam General Hospital, and others attended the event.