Govt to launch palliative care units in Mahbubnagar districts

Mahbubnagar: With an aim to provide treatment to the patients with advanced cancer, Health Minister C Laxma Reddy inaugurated a seven-bedded Palliative Care unit at Mahbubnagar Government General Hospital on Monday.

While speaking on the occasion the Health Minister said the State government is giving highest priority to healthcare and is doing all it can do to provide best medical facilities to the people. “As part of government’s initiative to provide healthcare with a human touch, we have decided to establish Palliative Care units in the State.

The main objective of these palliative care units is to provide treatment and care to the cancer patients facing the final stages of life.

The treatment in the palliative care units is free of cost and in fact, it is a great relief to the patients as well as their families,” said Laxma Rreddy.

Not just healthcare, the Minister said the TRS government has launched many such welfare schemes and programmes for the well-being of the people.

With the launch of the Palliative care unit in Mahbubnagar, it is second such unit launched in Telangana by the State government. Earlier a similar palliative healthcare unit was launched in Chevella mandal of Rangareddy district.

According to healthcare experts, palliative care is a multidisciplinary approach to specialised medical and nursing care for people facing life-limiting illnesses. It focuses on providing relief from the symptoms, pain, physical stress, and mental stress of a terminal diagnosis. The goal is to improve quality of life for both the person and their family.

At present there are six lakh patients suffering from different kinds of cancer disease, of them one lakh patients are suffering with end-stage cancer and are undergoing radiation therapy. Of them 20,000 people need palliative care, said the Health Minister.

For providing the palliative care, the government has provided a set of physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists and other health professionals who work together with the primary care physician and referred specialists and other hospital or hospice staff to provide additional support.

It is appropriate at any age and at any stage in a serious illness and can be provided as the main goal of care or along with curative treatment.

The Minister felt that the sufferings of patients with end-stage cancer are beyond description. “At the newly launched palliative care units, we are not only providing outpatient and inpatient treatment and care to the patients but are also planning to set up a team of healthcare experts who will also visit the homes of the patients and provide them treatment.

We are also providing emergency services at the palliative care centres. I am hopeful that with the launch of new palliative care centre, it will give a new boost and improve the quality of life for patients with the end-stage cancer in the district,” observed the Minister.