Kannur: Palliative care centres are increasingly becoming a part of the healthcare facilities as the cases of critical illnesses have spurted. Institutions and healthcare entrepreneurs have come forward to open palliative care centres at several places in Kerala so that specialised medical and nursing care could be provided to gravely or terminally ill patients at an institutional set-up. Interestingly, the Kerala Armed Police (KAP) is also running such an institution here at Mangattuparamba and it is a unique initiative by a security force.
Mythri Pain and Palliative Care Society of the KAP Battalion IV has now attended to more than 1,300 terminally ill patients since its inception a decade ago. It could be the only palliative care under any police force in the world.
KAP4 sub-inspector Radhakrishnan Kavumbayi, who has been managing the the society that runs the palliative care centre for a decade believes that running such facilities, which provide much-needed care to seriously ill or incapacitated patients, helps to improve the overall personality of people associated with them. Radhakrishnan is also involved in training the new recruits to the healthcare facility.
“The society, which is run by a board of 13 police officers and 12 people from the nearby areas, has attended to more than 1,300 terminally ill patients,” Radhakrishnan revealed.
“By attending to the patients, we are not only helping them, but spreading a positive feeling in their family as well as the society. Here, we ensure that a volunteer is able to spend 20 to 30 minutes with a patient at his/her house within a period of at least two weeks. Apart from the palliative care centre, we also run a de-addiction centre, trauma care unit, traffic awareness unit and (an environmental initiative) Mythri Dalam Four Nature,” Radhakrishnan added.
When the Kerala government implemented a palliative care policy for the first time in 2008 during the tenure of the LDF government, this unit was formed under the Janamaithri police (hence the name Mythri) by B Sandhya, who was the nodal officer. T M Aboobacker, who was the commandant of KAP4, is the chairman of the society.
The commandant continues to hold the position of chairman, the official informed.
Thirty trained police personnel from the camp are available as volunteers for Mythri.
