3 months ago, we received a call from one of the day care centres where we had teamed up with a blood bank to provide systematic and holistic care. While on one side were 2 people from Sankalp, on the other side there was the entire thalassemia day care team, some patients and their parents and staff from the blood bank. The intention of the sudden call – to thank Sankalp for joining hands with the team. Each one of them said that the collaboration has only yielded good. While the day care staff mentioned how procedural things have become, the patients and their mothers were filled with joy that their children are getting healthier.
The entire team narrated that earlier it was unbelievably difficult to maintain a pre transfusion Hb of 9 gm/dL or above. Even if a few of them did, it was mainly thanks to the compliance and alertness of the families themselves. Now, with ThalCare, a very large percentage of the patients maintain this level. What makes the case more interesting is the fact that the day care has 84% or more patients who are above the age of 15 years. Another parent went on to comment upon the reduction in time during the visit. The ‘day care’ was essentially now able to deliver care in a day – be it transfusions, lab investigations, counselling, chelation. The management team of the blood bank and day care seemed elated that the goals with which the daycare was setup are being realized.
Although the daycare was formed sometime back, the team did not have the knowhow and methodology to manage the specifics well. The collaboration with Sankalp helped them get that in place. Being situated in the financial capital of the city, there was no dearth of either patients or resources. Of late, many individuals and groups known to Sankalp have expressed awe at the turnaround of the situation there. One senior member working in the city mentioned that despite years of efforts it never looked like this daycare is a place for systematic care and that with the new collaboration things have turned on its head in a few months.
For the 2 people on call from Sankalp, this felt like another small step in the right direction. With local resources, safe blood and the technology, knowhow and systematic framework available with Sankalp, regular systematic management of thalassemia and related hemoglobin disorders is today a reality. Every couple of months there is a new request to collaborate in a new city. 5 years ago, Sankalp dreamt of 20 thalassemia day cares in the country all working with the same principles. Nature seems to be leading us there!