The Bangalore Hospice Trust (BHT) was established to provide free of charge professional palliative care for advanced stage cancer patients who are beyond cure. BHT has been offering home care since 1995 and in-patient care since 1999, and has treated over 12,000 patients since then. The Bangalore Hospice Trust (BHT) Karunashraya, meaning an abode of compassion was incepted as a registered charitable trust by the Indian Cancer Society (Karnataka Chapter) and Rotary Bangalore.
Cancer is a very painful disease in its last stages, and over-the-counter painkiller medicines don’t help in controlling these pains. BHT with its expertise and the required licenses to administer morphine, is able to mitigate pain to its suffering patients thereby providing a peaceful end for its patients.
Their objectives are as follows:
- To alleviate pain related symptoms
- To offer all round intensive care
- To ensure quality of life at every step and to counsel the patients' family in order to give them fortitude to accept the situation
- To heighten awareness of palliative care
Girls from lower economic backgrounds are provided 6 month training on basic patient care, on course completion are certified as health assistants, thereby satisfying the twin objective of creating health assistants and fulfilling the requirements of these health assistants in homes where 24 hour care is needed.
BCT is run by an experienced and committed team of nurses, doctors, physiotherapists, health assistants, counsellors, support staff, trustees and volunteers. While doctors and nurses provide medical care, trained family counsellors reach out to the patients and their family by sensitively informing them regarding the seriousness of the situation and help them deal with the trauma of the disease.
All these services are provided free of cost to the patients, more than 85% of whom are from the lower economic sections of society.
