Kidwai’s home-based palliative care reaches over 3,000 patients and caregivers

The Department of Palliative Medicine at the State-run Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology (KMIO) has been providing home-based care to over 3,000 patients and caregivers who are dealing with advanced cancer and other life-limiting illnesses. This service aims to extend palliative care beyond hospital wards to patients' homes, where families struggle with pain, emotional distress, and the challenges of long-term caregiving.

In the past year, KMIO's home-care services involved more than 750 home-care visits and covered a distance of over 12,000 km. The team of multidisciplinary professionals, including nurses and doctors, offers medical assessment, symptom management, nursing care, and assistance in familiar surroundings to reduce the burden of repeated hospital visits.

The department also acknowledges the impact of serious illness on entire families and provides support to caregivers by helping them manage the practical demands of caring for a patient, as well as offering emotional and financial assistance. Furthermore, KMIO's home care service includes bereavement support for families after the loss of a loved one.

The institute's department provides inpatient palliative care for patients who require specialized pain management, with capacity for over 30 patients. This service includes medication and interventional procedures like nerve blocks and neurolysis for those with severe cancer-related pain that remains uncontrolled with conventional treatments.

Additionally, KMIO offers paediatric palliative care, focusing on age-appropriate pain and symptom management, emotional support, and guidance for families caring for children with cancer and other serious illnesses. The department also organizes music and sound therapy sessions on Wednesdays and yoga therapy sessions on Thursdays to promote relaxation and emotional well-being alongside medical treatments.

To cater to patients living outside Bengaluru, KMIO has relaunched its 'Call for Care - Neravina Kare' service, which connects patients with specialist palliative care through telephone and video consultations with a team comprising a palliative care physician, nurse, and clinical psycho-oncologist. This service can be accessed by calling 9008441708.