SITARA palliative care centre opens at Sabbavaram
A dedicated palliative care centre, SITARA, was inaugurated at Sabbavaram in Anakapalli district on Thursday to provide specialised palliative, supportive and end-of-life care to cancer patients and their families.
Anakapalli District Collector and District Magistrate Vijaya Krishnan, IAS, and Pendurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu inaugurated the facility.
The centre is being established and operated by Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (HBCH&RC), Aganampudi, Visakhapatnam, a unit of the Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai, under the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
The facility aims to bring palliative care closer to patients, particularly those requiring pain management, supportive care and end-of-life services. Apart from medical care, the centre will address the emotional, psychological and social needs of patients and their families.
Speaking at the inauguration, Vijaya Krishnan appreciated the initiative by HBCH&RC and the donors and said that access to compassionate care was particularly important for patients suffering from serious illnesses. She said the new centre would help provide cancer patients and their families with comfort, dignity and support closer to their homes.
Pendurthi MLA Panchakarla Ramesh Babu assured his support in mobilising corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to strengthen the hospice facilities at the centre.
HBCH&RC director Dr Umesh Mahantshetty said palliative care was an integral part of comprehensive cancer care and that patients should be able to access such services within their communities.
He said SITARA would provide pain management and medical support, besides emotional and psychosocial care. The facility would also be used to train healthcare workers in cancer screening and palliative care.
“The project will help us work towards implementing comprehensive palliative care services in Andhra Pradesh,” Dr Mahantshetty said.
He thanked the Anakapalli district administration, the District Medical and Health Officer (DMHO), the District Immunisation Officer (DIO), donors and other stakeholders for their support in establishing the centre.
The inauguration was attended by the DMHO, the Project Director, DRDA, representatives of donor organisations, officials of Sabbavaram Gram Panchayat and Anakapalli Mandal, local administration staff and the HBCH&RC team.