Now, trained community caregivers for bedridden patients
Kolkata: In a first of its kind project by any government, the state is all set to introduce a unique programme to help people get "trained community caregivers" to look after their family members who are ailing or bedridden at home.
Titled "Seva Sakhi", the project will see women being provided with month-long training based on a specially prepared module at the Institute of Gerontology and then engaged as community caregivers.
The initiative would immensely benefit elderly people, who live almost all alone with their children staying outside the state.
With the International Day for Older Persons being observed worldwide on Friday, the project, that is getting implemented under the Anandadhara programme of the state rural livelihood mission of the Panchayats and Rural Development department, will be first introduced in four blocks — Baruipur in South 24-Parganas, Rajarhat in North 24-Parganas, Panskura in East Midnapore and Amta I in Howrah — before this winter. It will be in place across the state by the beginning of the new year. Twenty women from each of these blocks will be receiving training in the initial phases.
Instruction modules have been prepared in such a manner that the women will be well versed in their profile and manner of job, always maintaining a humane approach. Moreover, this would plug the gaps where it is not always possible for people to appoint a nurse to look after a bedridden patient.
"The Panchayats department implements projects only in rural parts of the state. Baruipur and Rajarhat blocks have been chosen as those are in rural areas and also close to the city and Salt Lake respectively. As a result, trained community caregivers from Rajarhat can travel to Salt Lake and Baruipur to Kolkata," said a state government officer.
The officer further said that the intervention of the state government in the sector, which has been running with an "informal" approach till date, would help people, in particular, to get a trainer person to look after their near and dear ones. Secondly, they will not be exorbitantly charged as minimum charges would be Rs 255 per day and Rs 300 per day for rural and urban areas respectively.
There will be a dedicated contact number for every district in which people can get in touch with the facility. Members of the 3,341 federations of the Self-Help Groups (SHGs) under the Anandadhara programme will be playing a crucial role in implementing the project. There are around 200 to 250 SHGs under each federation and each one has around 10 members.
