Palliative care grid to come into being by December 2025: Veena George

A palliative care grid linking health practitioners and other palliative care service providers including non-governmental organisations (NGOs) will come into being in Kerala within December 2025, Health Minister Veena George has said.

The proposed network, mooted in the action plan prepared last year as part of the State policy on palliative care 2019, also envisages a common platform that will contain details of visits by palliative care providers and the treatment provided to each patient. A software for the purpose is currently under development. The integration of all palliative care services through the platform will be crucial for Kerala in becoming a total palliative care State, the Minister pointed out.

Currently, there are 1,142 primary and 231 secondary home care units at the government level, in addition to the over 500 home nursing care units operated by NGOs, catering to nearly 2.5 lakh patients across the state.

Ms. George added that the government has adopted steps to ensure the quality of service and impart training to healthcare personnel involved in palliative care.

Published - October 14, 2024 06:59 pm IST