KOZHIKODE ( KERALA ): Three Keralite Civil Service officers would soon add a new chapter in palliative care in rural West Bengal, inspired by similar initiative in their home state.
‘Sanjeevani’, an end-of-life care project to be launched in September in the Nadia district of WB, is the brain child of IAS officers P B Salim and Bijin Krishna and Amarnath, an IPS officer.
The project has been conceptualised by the Kozhikode based Institute of Palliative Medicine (IPM), the training, research and outreach arm of Pain and Palliative Care Society, which pioneered community volunteering in end-of-life care.
Salim, hailing from Muvattupuzha, is currently working as the District Magistrate of Nadia while Amarnath, a native of Moozhikkal in Kozhikode, is the ASP of South 24 Parganas.
Bijin from Meppayur in Kozhikode is the Assistant Collector of Murshidabad district.
So, what brings them together? “Both Amarnath and Salim had associated with IPM years ago. Salim suggested starting a palliative care programme in West Bengal. He along with Amarnath then approached me. Later, Bijin also extended support to the initiative,” said Dr Suresh, director of IPM, which provides technical support for the project.
According to Salim, Sanjeevani is aimed at improving the quality of life of the terminally ill in Nadia. “The project intends to introduce a new culture of providing care for the bed-ridden patients utilising a network of physicians, nurses and volunteers,” he said.
Palliative care initiatives are a rarity in West Bengal, Amarnath said. “Once the project is launched the lives of hundreds of patients and their families in Nadia district will undergo qualitative change,” he said.
‘Sanjeevani’ was born when the trio put together their brains to probe best ways in which financial and human resource can be efficiently utilised to alleviate the pain of terminally ill patients. “Despite the civic bodies having adequate financial back up, integrated palliative care in public health remains a distant dream,” said Bijin.
The project will be replicated in other districts of West Bengal if found to be a success. “Palliative care should not be tied up in the NGO sector alone. It’s better when it’s developed as part of government policy,” Bijin said.
‘Sanjeevani’ aims at sensitising Nadia’s population on issues related to palliative care and to provide skills and knowledge to support the bed-ridden. The home care units of trained volunteers and nurses will visit bed-ridden patients regularly to provide care.
The project will be first launched in Krish Nagar Municipality and five Grama Panchayats of Nadia district by September first week.
IPM chief trainer Mohammed Saif said Indian Medical Association of Nadia has assumed the lead role in training doctors for the project.
