‘Saath Saath’ helpline launched
by Consortium of Indian Palliative Care
On 7th October 2021, 11 palliative care organizations across India announced the launch of ‘Saath Saath’ a national and free palliative care helpline, in an effort to unify their actions and commitment to provide palliative care. This concerted effort strives to address the inequity in access to palliative care services for patients and their caregivers. The national toll free helpline ‘1800-202-7777’ is operational between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. from Monday to Saturday.
The helpline allows patients, caregivers and healthcare providers to connect to the nearest palliative care center using their preferred language from a choice of Hindi, English, Kannada, Malayalam, Telugu, Assamese and Marathi. The helpline currently offers direct service provision from cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Pune, Bengaluru, Thiruvananthapuram, Hyderabad and Guwahati.
India with a 1.2 billion population has a huge burden of suffering from life limiting diseases. Less than 1% of India’s population has access to pain relief and palliative care. This service with a pan-India coverage in multiple languages, aims that no person with a serious illness feels alone and that with help from qualified Healthcare Professionals and trained volunteers connecting with services such as pain relief, physiotherapy, diet advice and family counselling is just a phone call away.
Saath Saath is a joint effort between 11 leading palliative care organizations in India: The Indian Association of Palliative Care; CanSupport, Delhi; Romila Palliative care, Mumbai; Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai; PalCare, Mumbai; Sukoon Nilaya, Mumbai; Cipla Palliative Care & Training Centre, Pune; Karunashraya, Bengaluru; Dr B Barooah Cancer Institute, Guwahati, Pallium India, Thiruvanthapuram, and Pain Relief and Palliative Care Society, Hyderabad.
Thank you Cipla Foundation for making this helpline a reality!