Description

1)    What is the Project About?

There has been an exponential increase in the number of cancer patients seeking services from district hospitals thereby causing an increase in drug demand. Many a times ensuring continuous availability of drugs free of cost becomes difficult due to lack of government funds and technical issues in availing drugs through government insurance scheme (KASP/ KBF). This results in treatment interruptions subsequently leading to progression of disease and poor outcome.

2)    HELP Foundation Medical Store

HELP has been supporting Cancer & Dialysis patients through its various support schemes for the last 11 years. HELP Foundations Cancer Support Program “CAN-HELP”, provide financial assistance to needy patients who have exhausted their government insurance funds. The Program focused on the financially needy cancer patients and their families. Over the past several years we have been closely associated with Dept. of Oncology and Palliative care of Kollam District Hospital. Instead of providing financial support to the needy patients we set up a Not for Profit Drug Store in Kollam, so that HELP Foundation supported patients were provided lifesaving medicines free of cost.

3)    Dept. of Oncology (District Hospital), and HELP Foundation

As a not for profit organization HELP Foundation has been having a close working relationship with the District Hospitals Oncology department and our local Public Health Centre (PHC). When drugs are not available through the government schemes, given that we operate in a not for profit mode they direct their patients to purchase from us or apply for our free medicine scheme so that we could support them directly. Further we have also supplied drugs free of cost to District Hospitals Oncology department. Additionally, we have been assisting our local PHC in myriad ways.

4)    Problem Statement with Governmental Support in treatment of Cancer Patients.

Dept. of oncology and palliative Care-Kollam, caters to cancer patients from Kollam as well as neighboring districts like Alappuzha, Pathanamthitta and Trivandrum. The beneficiaries are mainly from poor socioeconomic background, some of them are not enrolled in government assisted insurance programs and treatment of cancer causes a huge economic burden to their families.

There has been an exponential increase in the number of cancer patients seeking services from district hospital there by causing an increase in drug demand. Many a times ensuring continuous availability of drugs free of cost becomes difficult due to lack of government funds and technical issues in availing drugs through government insurance scheme (KASP/ KBF).

This frequently result in treatment interruptions subsequently leading to progression of disease and poor outcome.

5)    How are we addressing it?

Department of Oncology and Palliative Care, District Hospital Kollam has requested assistance from HELP Foundation to address the problem, given that we have been supporting economically weak patients on their request with medicinal support. The availability of drugs from government agencies may vary from time to time. We need to supplement the chemotherapy drugs when there is shortage from government supply in order to avoid treatment interruptions.

There is also an increase need of analgesics, supportive care medicines, catheters, nasogastric tube, colostomy bags, adult diapers etc. for terminally ill cancer patients and patients under palliative care.

The main expenditure patients experience during cancer treatment is for conveyance and for buying drugs, ensuring free supply of drugs reduces their economic burden. This increases compliance to treatment resulting in better survival and quality of life.