National capital, Delhi, is in chaos. The life in the city has been shattered in the second wave of COVID -19. Hospitals are overloaded due to the sudden, unexpected, surge of covid-19 cases.
In spite of all these adverse circumstances imposed by the health care emergency, a group of palliative care providers in the capital city has been working tirelessly to provide the essential service to the terminally ill patients under their care, risking their own lives.
Here you can read the dedicated effort of Cansupport-India’s largest free home based palliative care service, which has a network of 28 home care services in Delhi and NCR, caring an average of 2600 patients at any given time. Fighting all the odds, the home care teams maintain their service without any gap.
Dr Reena Sharma, Medical Director of Cansupport shares their effort to provide care in a choking city.
Palliative home care during second COVID—19 wave
The second wave of COVID -19 has hit India and is much worse than the first. During the first wave CanSupport continued its palliative homecare services to advanced cancer patients and is doing the same during a more serious second wave.
Our strategy:
Home visits are decided on a priority basis, High, Medium and Low.
- High priority patients are those in the following category:
Patients in their last days of life, on morphine, having uncontrolled symptoms and needing an urgent procedure, are visited at home.
- Medium and low priority patients are those with well controlled symptoms and they are managed through regular phone and video calls.
Caring COVID Positive Patients:
Patients needing palliative care, and caregivers may also be infected with COVID-19. So teams do call to check presence of fever or respiratory symptoms before visiting. During this wave there are COVID positive patients and caregivers and they are managed through phone and video consultations. However opioids and other medicines are delivered to the patient’s doorstep and urgent procedures are done with appropriate protective measures. Due to the present crisis, we are also trying to arrange oxygen support at home for those having low oxygen levels and unable to get admitted to hospitals.
Safety of team members
Considering the safety of the staff, team members have been provided pick-up and drop facility from home and it has been made mandatory to use appropriate PPE during home visits. All of our home care staff have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
Helpline for emotional support and bereavement care
CanSupport is also offering emotional support and bereavement counseling by expert counselors for those who have lost a loved one to COVID-19.
Contact CanSupport Helpline: 9899011212/011-41010539.
“We are committed to provide care at this darkest hour”, Says Ms Harmala Gupta, Founder, CanSupport
“Palliative care providers are doing their best to help fellow citizens weather this Covid storm. I congratulate them all for their dedication and courage,” said Ms. Harmala Gupta, Founder of Cansupport. Ms Gupta also added that “Palliative care can and will bring succor into the lives that are so cruelly being snuffed out and help support their families at this darkest hour. This is our commitment at CanSupport”
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