Palliative Care in Kerala Dr Suresh Kumar

Palliative Care in India 5.4 million people estimated to be in need Advanced Cancer Elderly dying End stage systemic disease AIDS Less than 2% covered Quality of Death Study by Economist Intelligence Group India came as 40th in the 40 countries studied Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Palliative Care in Kerala Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Timeline of Palliative Care service development in Kerala Confined to a small community Start of Community Involvement Involvement of Local Self Government Institutions Non government Organization at Medical College Calicut, Kerala 30 projects started by Neighbourhood network in Northern Kerala Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Neighborhood Network in Palliative Care: Community participation an integral part of care in Kerala Network of trained volunteers in the community Support system by trained professionals, institutions and organizations Palliative care institutions as nodal centers Edinburgh 2018 Nov

PC as Primary Health Care Capacity building at the primary health care level Training Drugs and equipment Provision for home based care Integration between the primary health care and community owned services Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Volunteers Anyone who wants to contribute in the efforts to reduce the suffering of people living with advanced diseases Structured training to be given to those who are willing to spend time with the patient Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Palliative Care is everybody’s business Edinburgh 2018 Nov

The Kerala Model: Government of Kerala’s Palliative Care Policy Maximum coverage of palliative care services in Kerala Development of services with community participation Involve LSGIs in development of home based care Incorporate palliative care in general health care field NRHM Project in Palliative Care to facilitate implementation Sensitization, Capacity building and advocacy at LSGI level Edinburgh 2018 Nov

The Kerala Model: Target groups Advanced Cancer Irreversible stroke End of life in old age End stage systemic diseases (cardiac, respiratory, renal) Chronic progressive neuromuscular disorders AIDS Irreversible head injury, spinal injury, paraplegia from accidents Mental and physical incapacitation- especially children Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Palliative Care in Kerala – Mile Stones 25 years old Civil Society Organizations as the major player in the beginning More than 200 Community Based initiatives in first 15 years A few Local Government Institutions as supporters as early as 1998 Palliative Care Policy by Government of Kerala in 2008 Edinburgh 2018 Nov

The Kerala Model: Factors behind its success Vibrant civil and political society Support from civil society organizations, religious groups and political parties Extensive newspaper audience with high literacy rate in Kerala Media campaign to facilitate community participation Openness of the program Decentralized governance Package of services (Total Care) Edinburgh 2018 Nov

Thank you!! drsuresh.kumar@gmail.com Edinburgh 2018 Nov