Neighbourhood Network in Palliative Care (NNPC) is a joint venture by a group of organizations interested in improving the palliative care facilities for the people of all district in Kerala, India. The project aims at empowering the local community to look after the bed-ridden patients in the area. Once established, the project probably will be the most cost-effective program in Palliative Care in India and can act as a model for the rest of the third world.

All district in Kerala is believed to have about 3,000-5,000 newly diagnosed cancer patients every year, about 90% of whom are incurable at the time of diagnosis. In addition, there are a large number of patients with peripheral vascular diseases and with other incurable chronic conditions.

Resources including manpower are being mobilized from the community to offer outpatient and home care based services free of charge to patients with chronic debilitating diseases.   Both part time and full time doctors trained in palliative care, with active help from trained nurses and volunteers from the community manage these clinics.   Training units of NNPC give structured training to enrolled volunteers to empower them to look after bedridden people in the locality.

The basic training for each batch of 15 – 20 volunteers include 18 hours of interactive theory sessions and four days of  ‘clinical placement’ with palliative care services including home care. Thousands of  volunteers with different socio economic backgrounds have now completed their training and started working in the community with existing palliative care clinics.  Hundreds have been waitlisted!
Collaboration with the local government:

The whole hearted support that the programme enjoys from the local government needs special mention.
A manual for doctors and two for volunteers have been published under this scheme. Extremely vital support by Malappuram District Panchayath of providing patients with free medicines is also being taken up.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

We believe that NNPC as a social experiment,
is very relevant to the present health care situation in the Third World.
We also know that a small group of people in a poor and remote area in India
will not be able to make this project grow into its full potential
with out help from people like you.