JOIN USCentre opened to help patients with bedsores
A newly established centre is providing support for those struggling to overcome paralysis and other conditions that cause bedsores.
Sparsha Guna Physiocare and Wellness Centre was started as a joint venture between the Good Sam Foundation, Bengaluru, and Amici di Raoul Follereau (AIFO), Bengaluru, during the lockdown.
Located in Kaveri Layout, the centre focuses on wound care and training of caregivers.
“We have been working with people who have had spinal cord or other injuries that have left them disabled and bed-ridden,” says David Istacky, managing trustee, Good Sam Foundation.
Most people who are paralysed rarely regain functionality, and if they do, it is with assistive devices.
“They get bedsores and they don’t have sensation in the area,” he says.
If bedsores go untreated, they worsen, often turning septic, and resulting in death.
“About 70 to 80 per cent who struggle with physical disability following an accident are suicidal. The road to recovery is long and expensive, and so they mentally switch off,” he explains.
During the lockdown, the number of people seeking help increased. “We had to get some special permissions to get them the help they needed. Many doctors and healthcare professionals refused to visit the patients at their homes, and many hospitals refused to take non-Covid cases,” Istacky says.
This lack of support triggered the first ‘Wound Camp’ in May, where they treated 12 patients.
Three months later, they organised a second camp in rural Bengaluru, where they dealt with 36 cases. The efforts grabbed the attention of The Association Of People With Disability (APD), which has been working in this space for close to 60 years.
“We decided to collaborate with them. They have community workers in 30 districts in Karnataka and have a much wider reach than us. So, we signed an MoU with them,” he says.
It was around this time that AIFO noticed their efforts and offered grants.
“While the government and UN have declared that India is leprosy-free, the fact is that cases still exist,” he says, explaining AIFO’s motivation to join the cause.
Over the past year, they have been able to provide support to over 100 patients in Bengaluru.
“In rural areas, once you identify the problem you have to train the caregiver and the problem is rectified. However, in urban areas, apart from the high cost, for many, finding support is impossible, which is why we want to focus on the city,” he says.
The idea is to make this support not just affordable, but also accessible. “We have to create a sustainable model. Many caregivers go through hell trying to make ends meet. We can educate them, but how do they manage? We want to help reduce that stress by teaching the patients what they can do on their own,” he explains.
Social organisations, he says, have become corporatised in their outlook and hence focus on deadlines. “This is a space where we have to invest a lot of time. Many people in the medical industry have asked why we focus on these cases, but in the end, we need someone to bridge that gap,” he
adds.
The centre is located at #58, 4th Cross, Kaveri Layout, Tavarekere Main Road, DRC and can be contacted on 2553 1264 or 91102 01541.