KOSISH- the Hospice
Mission statement
To provide compassionate, individualized, holistic and supportive care for all patients with life-limiting illnesses, their carers and families.
Service description
Palliative care is still in its infancy in most parts of India, with more than 99% of the population being deprived of its benefits. Availability of resources is a major problem and this factor is compounded by lack of affordability. Accessibility is a major issue in small towns and villages – 70-80% of the population of India still live in villages and small towns. The sad result is that majority die undignified deaths and often leaving the families in a state of prolonged bereavement.
We are pioneering the cause of rural palliative care in the tribal state of Jharkhand & West Bengal in India through our hospice, KOSISH, which is the first NGO in Jharkhand providing palliative care services to the elderly and the terminally ill. We have been providing our services to the community since 2006. Narcotic rules vary from state to state and administrators in most areas consider a low priority issue. Illiteracy, poverty, ignorance are the rule of the day. Most people do not have access to basic health amenities. Care of the terminally ill remains a low-priority issue with them. Death means a mouth less to feed – economics simplified!
Focusing on the available ‘resources’ i.e, addressing the spiritual & psychological needs of the dying, in addition to the physical needs, would go a long way in preventing such ‘undignified’ deaths. We ‘tap’ into these resources and provide the best possible care in accordance with the local social & cultural background.
We provide ‘home care’ for the patients, where our team consisting of a doctor, nurse, and volunteer visit the patients at their homes and address the symptoms in a holistic fashion, providing relief, sustaining dignity & empowering the family in the care of the patient.
In addition, we conduct ‘heath check-up camps’ for the Elderly in villages, for they would find it difficult to access our center…we have coined the term of ‘preventive palliation’ in this context for the Elderly. In providing a holistic nature of care, it is our endeavor to address poverty, as far as practicable.
We distribute ‘used clothes’ to the poor when we conduct camps in the remote villages. This promotes goodwill and trust.
In our endeavor to empower the ‘girl child’, we arranged for the moral education of the village girls in our center by providing them with basic education, food and clothing.
We have also started a system where we have trained a few village women to conduct door to door surveys of the Elderly, asking questions in a holistic manner, and providing a routine check of physical parameters like blood pressure.
We also have constructed a residential ‘Long term care facility for the Elderly & terminally ill’ at Vill.Pindrajhora, Bokaro, which is about 300 km from Kolkata, for providing residential care.
As a part of continuing education, we conduct the Indian Association of Palliative Care certificate course in Essentials of Palliative Care for doctors, nurses & dentists, at our center. We have had many original research published in indexed journals.
We are happy to welcome people interested in seeking ‘clinical attachments’ at our hospice and also offer our expertise in working in resource poor settings.
Contact details:
Kosish- the Hospice
Village: Obra, Thana: Pindrajhora, District Bokaro, Jharkhand, India. 827013.
Email: ratuldam@yahoo.com
Facebook: kosishthehospice, www.kosishthehospice.webs.com