'Saath-Saath’ helpline launched by Consortium of Palliative Care Organisations on World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

Introduction of a toll-free palliative care helpline by 11 palliative care organizations to address the inequity in access to palliative care services for patients and their caregivers.

Callers seeking assistance can get connected to palliative services in their preferred language from Hindi, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Assamese and Marathi

Mumbai: Cipla Palliative Care, CanSupport, Pallium India and 8 other palliative care organizations announced the launch of the ‘Saath-Saath’ helpline today, in an effort to unify their actions and commitment to provide palliative care in the country. The helpline is a national free-of-cost service where patients, caregivers and healthcare providers can be connected to the nearest palliative care center when required.

The toll-free helpline ‘1800-202-7777’ will be operational from Monday to Saturday between 10 am to 6 pm. It offers direct service provision in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Guwahati.

According to reports, the total number of people in India who need palliative care is likely to be 5.4 million a year1. By offering a pan-India coverage in multiple languages, this service is aimed at ensuring that no person with a serious illness feels alone, and has access to options such as pain relief, physiotherapy, diet advice and family counselling to assist them and their caregivers with the help of qualified healthcare professionals and trained volunteers.

Speaking about the need for the helpline, Dr Rajagopal, Chairman, Pallium India said: “It would be easy to turn our backs to the sea of suffering out there and walk away. But we choose not to. We choose to face it and do what we can. Together.”

Commenting at the launch, Rumana Hamied, Managing Trustee, Cipla Foundation & Cipla Palliative Care & Training Centre, said, “At Cipla Foundation, we are guided by our ethos of ‘Caring for Life’. The Saath-Saath helpline is a collaborative effort that offers an opportunity to people living with serious illnesses to find the right connects to get care that is responsive to their needs, at any point in their ailment journey.”

Sharing her thoughts, Harmala Gupta, Founder – President, CanSupport, said: “Saath-Saath is really a dream come true for us. The idea of this helpline is to enable people have a way in which they can express their feelings rather than hide them and have access to the information they need. The helpline will support patients with options like pain relief, physiotherapy, diet advice and family counselling that I am confident will serve the purpose and much more.”