The healthcare infrastructure in Northeast India is still not holistically strengthened to cover each district spread across the Northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Tripura. It is important to note that recent studies carried out by medical authorities in India suggests that Northeast India has become the cancer capital of India, with 50000 cancer cases registered from the region in the year 2020 alone. However, not all of them are able to seek the best cancer treatments in metro cities like Mumbai and Delhi owing to several economic factors. As a result, we see many outstation patients, mostly from the remote areas of Assam and other Northeastern states visiting Guwahati for availing healthcare facilities, mostly for terminal cases such as cancer.

It can get incredibly tough for patients coming from economically weaker backgrounds to avail long-term treatment options, especially with regards to coping with accommodation cost in the city - which is not just for the patient, but for the patient’s caregiver as well.

The city of Guwahati lacks adequate infrastructure to support the accommodation needs of the financially poor, who require long-term medical treatment, such as the terminally ill and cancer patients, hailing from Northeast India.

PROJECT ANUBHAV

Project Anubhav is a holistic programme conceptualized by Sreemanta Sankar Mission to build a Medical Care Home in Guwahati for the outstation terminally ill & cancer patients. The care home will offer accomodation for both patients and their attendants (caregiver) at a highly affordable cost which can sustain their long-term treatment scope in the city spanning over several months at a time.

Keeping the needs of terminally ill patients in sight, the Medical Care Home will be fully equipped with a paramedical support team for extending emergency care and immediate transportation of patients to hospitals when need be.

In addition, the care home will also house an on-premise general pharmacy outlet under the ambit of AYUSH to offer necessary medical supplies to the inmates of the care home at subsidized rates.

Long-term outlook

The care home under Project Anubhav is aimed at eliminating the accommodation barrier faced by outstation patients from the economically weaker sections of the society. It intends to bridge the gap between long-term medical care and the added cost of continuing such treatments through the care home establishment.

Every patient deserves adequate care for their health, and it is the responsibility of the society to ensure that we create an inclusive healthcare infrastructure which enables financially poor patients to avail medical support without worrying about making ends meet. Project Anubhav is a stepping stone towards this reality in the making.