The patient navigators at Parel’s Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) now have a uniform that will help patients identify them in the crowded hospital. Known as Kevats or margdarshaks, they wear a dark blue blazer with a symbol of a boat at the back.
The hospital currently has 13 patient navigators who are trained in a specially designed year-long patient navigation programme called Kevat, named after the boatman who had helped Lord Ram, Sita and Lakshman cross the river Ganga. “They got the uniform on World Cancer Day on February 4. We are in the process of putting up cut-outs and standees that will help the patients know and locate the patient navigators,” said Nishu Singh Goel, who heads the programme.
TMH is the country’s biggest cancer hospital with a daily footfall of over 2,000 patients. A large number of patients come from out of Mumbai. While the diagnosis of the disease and treatment itself is overwhelming, the crowded hospital and finding way from one department to another often becomes difficult for some patients and their relatives. That is where the patient navigators step in.
However, the patient navigators cannot be equated to regular volunteers. This group stands apart as they have been trained in the clinical oncology module that covers every aspect of four main cancers: head and neck, breast, gastrointestinal and gynaecological. They also study a psychosocial module that covers mental health, networking and advocacy, and communication skills. On an average, patient navigators assist 20 to 25 patients in a day.
Doctors at the hospital say the patient navigators have a great role in ensuring better treatment outcomes and reducing any kind of delay in treatment.