IRCS to launch home nursing training & services

​Warangal: Indian Red Cross Society (IRCS), Warangal, has been making plans to expand its service activities beyond blood collection and distribution. Established 58 years ago in 1960 and started full-fledged functioning in 2002, the IRCS is now drawing out several innovative programmes to reach out to the needy, marking this year’s World Red Cross Society Day, which falls on May 8, the birth anniversary of Jean Henry Dunant, Red Cross Movement founder.

The day is also observed as World Thalassaemia Day. May 8 is an important day for us as it reminds us about our duty towards the society and set goals for future, said the IRCS chairman Dr P Vijay Chander Reddy.

Speaking to The Hans India here on Monday, he revealed that they are going to launch Senior Citizens Clinic on Tuesday. It aims at monitoring health of persons, aged 60 years and above, by conducting basic tests and offering health advise.

Plans are afoot to launch Home Nursing training and services to assist elders whose children are away and who needs support. An IRCS team has recently visited a Home Nursing College in Srikakulam and modalities are being worked out.

Soon a notification will be issued asking interested paramedical certificate holders and those with minimum of SSC qualification and with service motto to enrol their names for the training.

It will be followed by facilitating of services, Dr Reddy said adding the initiative creates employment also.
The demand for Home Nursing is growing with many calling for the services, he said. Ensuring preparedness to handle disasters a Social Emergency Response Volunteers (SERV) training programme for Asha Workers, ANMs, Nehru Yuva Kendra and NSS volunteers conducted in last month by the IRCS in association with Power Grid in first aid and emergency medical response.

According to the IRCS chairman Reddy, its vice-chairman Dr K Sudhakar Reddy and its state managing committee member EV Srinivas Rao and others, there is a need of 5000 units of blood annually. IRCS Warangal is collecting about 4000 to 4500 and catering the needs of patients in erstwhile Warangal district.

Donors if met with accident and died Rs 1 lakh will be given as ex-gratia. Unlike others, we don’t ask for exchange when offering blood and that has made us to stand out and win many awards, they said.

“We at IRCS encourage voluntary donors, mainly young people. We have Junior Red Cross and Youth Red Cross. We are supposed to reach 100 per cent voluntary blood donation by 2020 but IRCS Warangal achieved it in 2016 itself, earning us ‘Award of Excellence’ and Best Blood Bank Award,” they noted.

In 2016-17 about 12,577 units of blood collected with 160 camps and in 2017-18 with 161 camps 11,255 units collected. There are 239 registered Thalassemia patients for whom a total 3,454 free blood transfusions conducted at its exclusive transfusion centre.

Above all, the IRCS Warangal has got a memorable moment. It was visited by Mother Teresa on February 21, 1988 along with the then Governor Kumud Ben Joshi. A picture of with portrait and with Mother Teresa’s message ‘God Bless You’ greets all, who enters the lounge.