Palliative Care
Bringing dignity, wholistic care, and symptom management to rural north India.
6 Million
People in Need
Estimated annual need in India, with less than 1% having access.
14,066
Patients Reached
Provided wholistic care (94% cancer, 16% HIV/NCDs).
14
Hospitals
Active EHA palliative care service centers across the network.
The Genesis of Care
Provision of Palliative Care (PC) is a massive challenge for health services in India. Approximately 645,441 children on any one day need palliative care, yet only 0.7% receive it.
EHA started the development of palliative care services in rural north India in 2009 with a 3-month needs assessment at Harriet Benson Memorial Hospital (HBMH) in Lalitpur, UP. This highlighted that patients with palliative care needs were sequestered within their homes, often with little care from their families. They had frequently spent large amounts on cancer treatment and could not afford further care.
On the basis of this evidence, our first palliative care service was established at HBMH in April 2010.
14 Palliative Care Centers
Harriet Benson Memorial Hospital, Lalitpur, UP (April 2010)
Shalom Project, Delhi (January 2011)
Broadwell Christian Hospital, Fatehpur, UP (Sept 2012)
GM Priya Hospital, Dapegaon, Maharashtra (Sept 2012)
Prem Sewa Hospital, Utraula, UP (August 2013)
Baptist Christian Hospital, Tezpur, Assam (January 2014)
Christian Hospital Chhatarpur, MP (May 2014)
Madhipura Christian Hospital, Bihar (Oct 2014)
Lakhnadon Christian Hospital, MP (Jan 2016)
Chinchpada Christian Hospital, Maharashtra (April 2016)
Nav Jivan Hospital, Satbarwa (Jan 2017)
Duncan Hospital, Raxaul (April 2017)
Sewa Bhawan Hospital, Jagdeeshpur (August 2017)
Jiwan Jyoti Christian Hospital, Robertsganj (August 2017)
Service Expansion
Lakhnadon Christian Hospital started PC in January 2016 with an IAPC trained doctor, 2 nurses, and a driver providing home care within 10-15 kms. Chinchpada Christian Hospital began in April 2016, acquiring an opioid license and networking widely. Nav Jiwan Hospital initiated services after training key personnel.
Training & Capacity
Two sessions on the Basic PC Course (IAPC) were held at HBMH, Lalitpur. So far, 55 EHA doctors and nurses have completed the course. We have also hosted End-of-Life Care workshops with experts from Tata Memorial Centre and Link Nurse Trainings at various locations.
Poverty Reduction
A pilot study across Lalitpur, Fatehpur, and Utraula revealed that enrolment in our PC service reduced monthly expenses for 85% of patients through home-based care, symptom management, and subsidized medicines. Palliative care has immense scope to reduce poverty stemming from chronic illness.
Networking
EHA partnered with the Catholic Health Association of India and CMAI to form a Christian Palliative Care Network. We actively network with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare for inclusion under the National Health Mission's Non-communicable diseases program.