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Help is at hand for the elderly who need proper care and assistance in the absence of their working family members.
Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital has planned to start a short-term training course on home nursing to raise a pool of trained personnel whose services could be procured both at private residences and in nursing homes.
Dr S.S. Jha, the hospital director, said: “The initiative is aimed at delivering healthcare to the frail and vulnerable elderly people. In nuclear families, the health of aged persons is often neglected. Working couples force them to stay alone at home.”
Sources said the hospital would be the first institution in the state capital to start a home nursing course. It wants to start the course within one-and-a-half months.
“Elderly people are unable to take care of themselves when they fall sick. In a small family, an elderly person does not get constant attention. Home nurses can be of great help to such people. However, this concept is not very popular in Patna. But we hope the trend to catch up soon. Our aim is to help the elderly who need utmost care and attention. Home nurses are also needed for patients who are sick for a long time and those who need proper care and assistance. Family members cannot devote their full time to the ailing person because of other work,” said S.S. Jha.
Elaborating on the course, he said: “It would be a six-week course. Anybody who has studied up to Class VII is eligible to enrol for the course.”
Jha said the hospital would keep necessary details of the trainees so that it can contact them after completion of the course. “We would maintain records of our passouts so that residents can hire home nurses from us,” said Jha.
Both men and women can enrol for the course. “There is a general perception that only women can become home nurses but our course would be open to men also,” said Jha.
On the issue of safety of women home nurses, Dr Jha said: “After the completion of the course, we would depute home nurses. But before deputing women nurses at any home, we would check the details of the family.”
Jha said the hospital has not decided about the fee yet. “We have not decided yet whether we would charge a nominal fee or would give the training free of cost,” Dr Jha said.
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