Apollo Hospitals launches dedicated elderly care services through Apollo Elder Care centre
- Apollo Elder Care centre to render specialised care under one roof
Hyderabad, September 6th, 2017 : Renowned Film Director Sri K Viswanadh, inaugurated the Apollo Elder Care centre on Wednesday at Apollo Hospitals, Jubilee Hills. Ms Sangita Reddy, Jt. Managing Director, Apollo Hospitals; Dr Hari Prasad, President, Apollo Hospitals & Dr Vasanth Kumar, Senior Consultant - Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Apollo Hospitals, briefed media about the Apollo Geriatric Clinics, on the occasion.
This exclusive center for the elderly, will be a comprehensive centre to diagnose the patient, comprehend his medical background and offer customized care. In the first phase of the launch, the service will be available at Hyderabad.
It is a specialised geriatric care initiative where proficient geriatricians and allied medical professionals provide comprehensive geriatric assessment to address all-round needs of a patient and recommend the best treatment approach.
The dedicated Geriatric Care centre has four zones - Out Patient Care, In Patient Care, Emergency Care and Home Health Care. It will offer comprehensive physical, cognitive and psychosocial assessment, a personal care plan, recommendations to improve health and functional ability, rehabilitation, safe use of medicines and will address home and emergency care for the elderly.
Speaking on the occasion Sri K Viswanadh, said, with children being encouraged to go abroad to explore opportunities and grow their career, the elder are left to fend for themselves, at an age when they are vulnerable and need support. It is in such circumstances they need a support system and a dedicated geriatric center like this helps and provides the comfort needed. Doctors dealing with elderly need enormous patience, the elderly have several doubts and persistently ask for the same thing again and again, under such circumstances the doctors need to deal with them patiently, which is not an easy thing to inculcate for a doctor. A clinic like this which is in sync with the needs of the elderly is a very nice thing to happen, it is very beneficial to old people.
Health issues facing the elderly can be very complex and puzzling. The elderly often suffer from more than one medical problem and have conditions that can be obscured by unusual symptoms. At Apollo, we felt that elderly care needs a special environment and attention that can help them improve their functional ability, physical health, cognition and general well being, says Ms Sangita Reddy. This Clinic is proactive and works towards preventive care, with all needed facilities under one roof. Apollo Elder Care is a specialised service but functions as a personalised family doctor. The Doctors and the support staff are trained to attend to the needs of the elderly in a patient and caring manner.
Dr Hari Prasad said, this clinic is the first Apollo Elder Care centre, being launched by the group and will have five more similar centers within the next two months at Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkatta and will be subsequently taken to 60+ group hospitals. Since these Centers are located within the existing hospitals, the investment involved is more towards knowledge and specialised human resources. Though population ageing is a global phenomenon, India faces a specific demographic challenge with about 8 percent of the population is over the age of 65 in 2014, and this number is expected to grow up to 20 percent by 2050. This necessitates healthy ageing as a chief prerequisite for the Indian population, and a holistic approach to their health needs is one of the current foci of the Indian health sector" says Dr Hari Prasad. As a latest edge of Apollo Hospitals’ constant thrive to innovate healthcare delivery, and dedicated to the overall health and welfare of the elderly, Apollo Elder Care follows a holistic methodology that employs the best ways to maintain or improve functional ability, physical health, cognition and mental health of our senior populace.
Dr Vasanth Kumar said, geriatric clinic will provide comprehensive care addressing their medical, psychological, rehabilitative needs. Besides focusing on treating the elderly will majorly lay thrust on preventive care even before they have a problem. It will adopt a team approach involving specialists from different faculties, to provide an all round care.
The core treatment facilities available at the centre includes care towards preventing and managing fractures, dizziness (vision care), memory loss, depression, psychological revitalization, vaccinations, fatigue, unsteadiness or weakness, physiotherapy, diet counseling and medicine management.
As an exclusive and holistic care program to geriatric patients from Apollo Hospitals, Apollo Elder Care provides the following comprehensive solutions:
- Comprehensive physical, cognitive & psycho-social assessment
- Development of a personal care plan
- Super-specialists recommended surgical programs
- Aid in post-operative or post illness recovery (rehabilitation)
- Recommendations to improve health & functional ability
A highly trained multi-disciplinary team at Apollo Elder Care treats and also monitors its implementation - ensuring that the health and social care services are aligned to achieve the best outcomes. The team will also coordinates with all the relevant medical caregivers, making the treatment convenient and safe.
