Kannur: Palliative care offered by local body administration in Kannur district is facing a serious crisis as the state government has yet to sanction its share of the funds for the current financial year. The situation has affected the work of medical units under the local bodies providing palliative treatment and care to patients suffering from serious diseases such as cancer.

For instance, the Kannur City Corporation had prepared a Rs 55-lakh project for palliative care during the last financial year, of which ₹53 lakh has already been spent. An amount of ₹1.73 lakh remains and, when that too will be spent, the City Corporation will have no funds for palliative care.

Local body authorities said that the crisis became worse following the lapse of the Plan Fund installment for the financial year 2025-26 during the term of the previous LDF government. The last date to file the Plan Fund projects for the financial year 2026-27, which were revised after the new UDF government came to power, is July 31. In fact, there has been a delay in sanctioning the first installment of the current financial year as an interval occurred for the change in government.

Expenses for palliative care, including the salary for nursing staff, are met from the Plan allocation by the state government, own funds of the local bodies and HMC (hospital management committee) funds of primary-family health centres. With the Plan Funds yet to reach them, the local bodies are currently utilising their own funds for expenses related to health and education, considering the need to avoid a crisis in these sectors. A few local bodies are also proceeding with regular palliative care, BRC (block resource centre) and scholarship services, hoping to recover the expenses when the Plan Funds are sanctioned.

At the same time, the panchayats are concerned that there could be a further delay in receiving Plan Funds as the Planning Committee has to approve the projects submitted by them before the money is sanctioned. With Onam around the corner, local bodies have urged the government to expedite the procedures.

A crucial service offered by palliative care units is visiting bedridden patients at home with the help of ASHA workers and ensuring treatment. The medical staff of palliative care units also distribute waterbeds, wheelchairs, diapers and antiseptic lotions. Vehicles for the travel of the medical teams to the local body wards are hired on contract from private owners. Some panchayats also utilise ambulances. However, these services have come to a standstill because there are no funds. Similarly, salaries for the staff, including nurses, and payments for drivers of ambulances and taxi cars have been pending for the last six months.

Fresh purchase of palliative care equipment and medicines is also not taking place as the arrears have mounted. The shortage of funds has also affected the distribution of scholarships for differently-abled children and activities of BUDS schools.

Funds for primary palliative care are utilised by grama panchayats and for secondary palliative care by block panchayats. With funds yet to arrive, implementation of primary and secondary palliative care projects in various panchayats has slowed down.