How We Operate
Palliative care is team work and we are a multidisciplinary team of Doctors, Nurses, and Counsellors with the prime purpose of delivering our palliative care to our patients’ homes.
When we visit the home, we look at the patient’s entire medical history and based on his/her current medical status, we recommend a care plan to ensure that the patient may have a quality life and live as comfortably as possible for as long as possible, by managing pain and other symptoms that come with their illness, and ensuring emotional support.
The medical team will spend as much time as required with the patient, always taking care to ensure all the patient’s and caregiver’s concerns are addressed. The team will decide the frequency of visits based on a high, medium or low priority status (biweekly, weekly, fortnightly, monthly). To ensure continuity, the same team members are assigned to the patient during the tenure of our service.
The service is available from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday to Friday and every alternate Saturday – till 4 p.m. Emergencies numbers are available when a patient may need assistance out-of-work hours. A nurse will take the call and provide advice. If required she will get a doctor to call.
The Doctor will take a full medical history and evaluate the patient’s current health condition. S/he will then prescribe medications to keep the current symptoms under control and will plan a course of action – The Medical Plan. During the course of the patient’s illness there will be highs and lows in the health status, and the plan will be tweaked as required to keep the patient as comfortable as possible at all times.
The Nurse is the ‘Go-To’ person (the first point of contact) for most of the patient’s medical issues. The nurse monitors the patient regularly and ensures the treatment line is being followed. S/He reports any changes to the doctor, who may then decide to teak the plan. No matter who is caring for the patient, be it a family member or a professional caregiver, the nurse will teach them the best way to look after the patient in between PALCARE visits.
The Counsellor is a well-trained and qualified psychologist. S/he plays a key role at PALCARE. We understand that the patient’s condition can take an emotional toll on s/he and the family. Our counsellor will listen to the patient and family, try and understand the emotional needs and equip them with ways of coping with this traumatic situation so that the patient and families may be more at peace. We also help provide bereavement support.