There used to be a time when patients who were referred from Keonjhar to SCB, Medical College and Hospital (MCH), Cuttack, were completely on their own. When the patients, along with their attendants, reached SCB, they had to first understand the cumbersome task of admissions in the hospital and figure out different processes for availing various health services. If you were an illiterate belonging to the rural areas of Keonjhar, the entire process was daunting. There was no helping hand for the poor and the attendants of the patient had an additional burden to understand the entire process of the hospital along with the pain and agony of their patients. People lost a lot of their valuable time and money in the entire process. 

This scenario is common in almost all major hospitals across the country as many patients who are referred to such hospitals are generally unfamiliar with the place and surroundings, which adds to their misery. To address this problem, DMF Keonjhar came up with a unique and novel project called ‘DMF Sanjeevani’, sanctioned for an amount of `1.45 crores. Karuna Trust was selected as a partner agency to run the entire project and a team of coordinators were put in place.

Under the project, a Patient Facilitation Centre (PFC) was established at SCB to guide and provide logistical and handholding support to in-patients (IPDs) from Keonjhar and two of their attendants during their treatment at SCB. The dedicated team of patient facilitators provide necessary guidance to the patients 24 hours a day and throughout the year. Along with the PFC, an Attendant Accommodation Centre (AAC) was also established to provide overnight accommodation and food (daily allowance) for a maximum of two attendants per patient.

After the launch of the project in March 2020, the entire referral process was reinvented. The coordinators track patients after being referred from DHH/DSHs till the time of arrival at Cuttack. Once the patients reach SCB, the coordinators receive the patients and guide them in the entire admission process and ensure that they are admitted in appropriate in-patient (IPD) ward or department.

The referred patients are generally critical in nature and they require treatment for a longer duration. In such cases, the attendants go through a tough time with no proper facilities for them in the hospitals. The ‘DMF Sanjeevani’ project has provided great relief to the patients and the attendants; and the services have been widely appreciated by the people of Keonjhar. The project has facilitated more than 1,100 patients since its launch.