When a person suffering from terminal illness is nearing death, they don’t want to die at hospital. They prefer to die at home surrounded by family members, said senior officials of the Health department and doctors who interacted with terminally ill patients.

With the motto, ‘even death should be peaceful’, medical teams have ramped up palliative care services offered to terminally ill bed-ridden patients at home. They try to mitigate physical pain, and health issues associated with terminal illnesses. This ensures the patients spend time with family at end-stage of their life.

Besides those nearing death, even elderly patients who cannot step out of bed are attended at their home. As part of the medical care, the medical teams cleansed maggot-filled bedsores, clean pus-filled wounds and dress them up.

Palliative care services are funded under National Health Mission, implemented by the State government. The Commissioner of Health and Family Welfare, Yogita Rana, who is also mission director of NHM-Telangana, said she too was a care-giver to her father who suffered from metastatic lung cancer and who passed away. “I know the extent to which home-based care helps a family. If the same service can be given by a care-giver, it makes a lot of difference,” said the Commissioner.