* Trained assistants to take care of patients in the absence of family
* Heritage Hospital to extend service to 10 more cities
* Bedside Assistance will monitor blood pressure, temperature etc
* Hospital plans to train at least 1,000 Assistants a year
HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH (The Hindu), September 2, 2005:
With erratic schedules and demanding careers keeping couples away from home for long hours, taking care of elders who have suffered a heart attack or a fall or are diabetic has become an area of concern.
To address this need, the city-based Heritage Hospital, the first geriatric care hospital, has launched the Bedside Assistance (BSA) programme where a trained bedside assistant takes care of the patient in the absence of the family members.
Encouraged by the success of 400 BSAs functioning in Bangalore, Chennai, Vijayawada and Hyderabad, the hospital is now planning to extend this service to 10 more cities in the next three years.
Says Heritage Hospital Managing Director K.R Gangadharan: "Social gerontology shows that senior citizens want to remain at home and no matter how cheerful a hospital or old age home can be, they miss home. Hence we planned to go into home care extensively."
The bedside assistant is a boy or girl with minimum schooling, trained through a three-month course as a "home care nursing assistant".
Apart from giving a bath, change of clothing, meals and medicines to the aged, these assistants are also trained in monitoring blood pressure, temperature and insulin levels.
Companionship
But more than a nurse, they provide companionship and someone to turn to in case of need. This model serves as a mutually beneficial model not only for working couples and their parents, but also for the assistant who is able to earn a livelihood.
The demand from other cities and elders shifting to Hyderabad and the difficulty in always finding an assistant who is ready to leave the city for Mumbai, Gujarat or other regions has prompted this move. Plans are to train at least 1,000 bedside assistants a year, he added.
September 2, 2005
INDIA: Home Care Services for the Aged Launched in Hyderabad
* Trained assistants to take care of patients in the absence of family
* Heritage Hospital to extend service to 10 more cities
* Bedside Assistance will monitor blood pressure, temperature etc
* Hospital plans to train at least 1,000 Assistants a year
HYDERABAD, ANDHRA PRADESH (The Hindu), September 2, 2005:
With erratic schedules and demanding careers keeping couples away from home for long hours, taking care of elders who have suffered a heart attack or a fall or are diabetic has become an area of concern.
To address this need, the city-based Heritage Hospital, the first geriatric care hospital, has launched the Bedside Assistance (BSA) programme where a trained bedside assistant takes care of the patient in the absence of the family members.
Encouraged by the success of 400 BSAs functioning in Bangalore, Chennai, Vijayawada and Hyderabad, the hospital is now planning to extend this service to 10 more cities in the next three years.
Says Heritage Hospital Managing Director K.R Gangadharan: "Social gerontology shows that senior citizens want to remain at home and no matter how cheerful a hospital or old age home can be, they miss home. Hence we planned to go into home care extensively."
The bedside assistant is a boy or girl with minimum schooling, trained through a three-month course as a "home care nursing assistant".
Apart from giving a bath, change of clothing, meals and medicines to the aged, these assistants are also trained in monitoring blood pressure, temperature and insulin levels.
Companionship
But more than a nurse, they provide companionship and someone to turn to in case of need. This model serves as a mutually beneficial model not only for working couples and their parents, but also for the assistant who is able to earn a livelihood.
The demand from other cities and elders shifting to Hyderabad and the difficulty in always finding an assistant who is ready to leave the city for Mumbai, Gujarat or other regions has prompted this move. Plans are to train at least 1,000 bedside assistants a year, he added.
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