Facility for treatment of cancer patients under the Triveni Sangam project of Sayaji Hospital

In order to take proper care of the rest of the extremely poor and needy patients of the society who are suffering from incurable diseases like cancer and who are not likely to get any result from further treatment in the hospital, the sensitive government has provided palliative care for such patients under public-private partnership in Vadodara after Ahmedabad.

The service facility has been set up under the project Karuna for the treatment of cancer patients under the Triveni Sangam project of Sayaji Hospital, Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Limited and Deepak Foundation, Vadodara. Oncology department head Dr. Anil Kumar Goyal said that patients in the last stage of cancer who cannot afford further treatment at the hospital and their family members cannot afford to spend time due to poor financial condition are referred to this special care center from Sayaji Hospital.

For the care of such patients, 25 bed facility has been started as PPP model in Pensionpura and Waghodia area of the city. There patients receive the necessary care, including free shelter and diet meals. Necessary staff has been arranged at the center for this facility.

The center takes care of patients who do not have a proper care taker at home due to the necessity of small and big business employment at home and delay in giving timely medicine and food to the patient. This condition can lead to depression, helplessness, and despair. This special care center is proving to be very blessed for poor patients to overcome this problem.

Interestingly, what is this palliative care? Palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of patients and their families. Those who are experiencing problems associated with a fatal illness are given special treatment by the team for pain relief, pain and other problems physically, mentally and spiritually through early identification.

If the terminally ill cancer patients who take shelter in this care center are in great pain, they are taken to Sayaji Hospital and brought back here after providing pain relief medical radiation services.

While ancillary services are being provided to the patients in the care center by Deepak Foundation under the agreement and Gujarat Energy Development Corporation Ltd. (GUVNL) is providing financial assistance under corporate social responsibility (CSR). All services are being provided free of cost to the patients here. The main goal of this care center is to take care of the patient.

In addition to radiation treatment of various types of cancer in the Radiation Oncology Department of Sayaji Hospital, special care is taken to prevent problems like nausea, vomiting, blood and infection in the person undergoing cancer and treatment with advanced methods like radio and chemotherapy.

The treatment center offers a variety of remedies to keep the patient stress free and pain free. Relatives of the patients can meet them in the morning and evening and spend time with them.

Attempts are made at this center to make the rest of the patient's life quality psychologically, spiritually and make the patient's life as comfortable as possible. Thus, the facility of making the rest of the time comfortable is the benefit which is mainly given to the needy patients from ordinary and poor families.

Considering the high prevalence of head and neck cancer, breast cancer, leukemia, bowel cancer (GIT) and cervical cancer, the patients are referred at the Palliative Care Center at Waghodia and Pensionpura run by the Deepak Foundation through the SSG hospital.

Deepak Foundation is providing these services with the financial support of Gujarat Energy Development Corporation Ltd. of the State Government and the expert medical services of the Oncology Department of Sayaji Hospital.

Originally the idea of ​​this facility was implemented in England to make the rest of the lives of cancer patients happier for those whose further treatment is not possible and there is no point in keeping them in the hospital and who spend their last days with peace.

The above three organizations have done a commendable job of realizing this idea in Vadodara. The system is becoming a boon for terminally ill cancer patients and their families with very limited equipment.

Dr. Kritarth Zala, medical officer of the Deepak Foundation-run care center, says that the center takes necessary care of advanced stage cancer patients. Patients are fed according to the diet plan. They are constantly trying to alleviate the patient's pain by creating a home-family atmosphere so that patients do not feel distressed at all.

Dr. Zala added that regular prayers, old songs, light games like chess, carom and snakes and ladders are played according to the ability to alleviate the suffering of the patients. Patients suffering from this incurable disease are constantly psychologically strengthened to bring them out of depression.

Gangaben who is undergoing treatment for breast cancer at the center said, she got breast cancer 10 years ago and was cured after receiving treatment at the hospital. But after a while it spread to the other side and was treated at Sayaji Hospital. Currently she is using the services of this center. The atmosphere here is just like home. Not only that medicine and food are also provided free of cost. The doctors at this center are taking care of her like relatives. If she had been at home, her family members would not have been able to take such care.

Archana Joshi Director of Deepak Foundation said that with the financial support of Gujarat Energy Development Corporation Ltd. along with Sayaji Hospital, this new project has been started under CSR for poor cancer patients.