What is it all about?

Yesterday 30th July, it was really a sultry Saturday, and I received a telephone call from Mrs. Varghese when I was driving back after visiting two ailing patients in Tilak Nagar and Mohan Garden with Mr. Sunil Gupta. It was totally a desperate cry for help from Mrs. Varghese as nobody was available with her for taking her to hospital to relieve her from the excruciating pain she was undergoing due to the portal vein hypertension and liver cirrhosis she is suffering from. My immediate instinct was to call up three of our stalwart volunteers of Palliative care teams as I was sure of not able to reach her from the far away Dwarka where I was then.

Last time when the same kind of pain started it was the broad day time and we all were in our offices and she had to resort to calling on 100, the ever busy Delhi Police, who courteously took her in their ambulance to the hospital and admitted her in emergency. We then felt the limitations of our palliative care movement that if the pain occurs to the patients on a week day, that too during office hours, we are helpless as our volunteership is confined to weekends and evenings of week days only.

Few to and fro call to them and Mr. Kumar was already out on road in Andrews Ganj looking for a taxi or auto to take Mrs. Varghese from Sunlight Colony to the Emergency ward of Safdarjung Hospital. It was understood that Mr. Abdul from Lodhi Colony had also started to the hospital by then after coordinating with Mr. Kumar. The bemoaning Mrs. Varghese was finally in the hospital, doctors promptly attended to her and administered pain killer injections calming her down in the emergency ward. Kumar and Abdul were still there in the hospital and by the time they finally left for their houses with a quite hope that Mrs. Varghese has been provided with a quick relief for the time being leaving her to the treatment and care of the good and always overworked doctors of Safdarjung hospital, one more hour had already passed after the calendar date of the day silently slipped into 31st July.

What is it all about? Are we doing social human care or Palliative Care? Abdul and Kumar are not medical professionals, but pen pushing Government officers who could have sat in the air conditioned comforts of their homes in this sultry day, but had already visited patients, provided monthly food rations, emotional support etc., wherever required during the day time on Saturday with other dedicated team members and took up further ordeal at 10 PM in the evening again.

So far we do not have the teams led by our own medical doctor and nurse, but definitely has the advantage of having few good hearted doctors and nurses coming with us voluntarily whenever they are free from their own working fields. We also do not have any vehicle of our own to take these doctor, nurse and volunteers to our patients spread all over Delhi or for patient transport. Be we gratefully thank Mr. E. Sreedharan for starting Metro rail as we resort to it for most of the travelling though we have to catch buses or cycle rikshas for destinations beyond Metro stations. None of our volunteers ever seen cribbing on these meager methods of transport we resort to even when the travelling charges are paid by themselves as the donations we receive are used solely on the patient care and not on overheads.

It is for the common public to scrutinize our mission in whichever form we may put it and also to see whether the patient has been benefited in any manner or not. Hope our patients and their families, for whom it may matter, may also decide what it is all about, a Social or Palliative Care.

kv hamza,
General Secretary, DNipCare
9891008356
www.dnipcare.org

End of an Era in the Humanitarian mission on demise of Brother Christu Das - The Indian Father Damien

He mattered very much for those ailing leprosy patients in getting a ray of hope in their lives. A visionary, able administrator and above all a true human being. We strongly believe that you and your achievements will always remain in the minds of everybody thinking on humanitarian causes.

kv hamza,
General Secretary, DNipCare
9891008356

Time to Think seriously

Time for us to concentrate on mental health and also Palliative Care for serious mentally ill people.

kv hamza,
General Secretary, DNipCare

DNipCare Centre in Seemapuri is in full swing

Our Palliative Care Centre at E-313, Seemapuri Main Road, Delhi is being manned by Mrs. Reni Mondal.

Mr. Nikkodim Kerketta bid farewell to this world peacefully

Mr.Nikkodim Kerketta, Sector 1, RKPuram, our bedridden Parkinsons disease patient died today, i.e., 14 July 2011 at 2AM. It seems important to mention here about the care and concern his children shown to their father for all these 7 months of bedridden stage.

Our heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.

We are very much grateful to Dr. Anjay B., Dr. K.S. Manoj, the doctors, Mr. Suresh Thaliyaril, Mrs. Bindu, the Nurses and all our volunteers who attended to this patient and also stood with the family in their hours of need for providing care of geriatric and Palliaton under DNipCare.

KV Hamza,
General Secretary, DNipCare
9891008356

Palliative Care Interventions - Why can't we replicate them?

Palliative Care Review Meeting - 9 JULY 2011

My dear Friends,

The Monthly Review meeting of DNipCare will be held at 5 PM on Saturday, 9th July 2011 in Kerala Club, M 67, Connaught Place, New Delhi.

You are requested to kindly attend the meeting and be a part of Palliation to the ailing patients around us.

with warm regards,

kv hamza
Gen. Secretary, DNipCare
9891008356