The Pickford Memorial Hospice
 |
| David Pickford |
The hospice was built with funds from the David Pickford Foundation, together with the £6800 proceeds of the 2012 London 10K running event. It can accommodate up to 15 patients. The Hospice opened in July 2012.
David was a former trustee of BFIT
Patients are referred to us by doctors, professionals at HIV testing centres, and by our own staff and social workers.
Our councilor leases with the referees and escorts the patients from their homes or hospital to our hospice.
The government hospitals must admit severely ill HIV/AIDS patients. However, they keep them for as little times as possible, usually only a few days. None will admit children with their mothers. sick mothers can bring their children to our Hospice if they have no one to leave them with, similarly sick children can bring their mothers and siblings. Mothers who have to work are welcome to stay whenever they can take time off, or cannot find work.
 |
| Sanyasi |
In the first three months of operation the hospice admitted 64 patients. Fifteen were terminal. Some were readmitted after they had discharged themselves to go to their homes to check on elderly parents or to travel to their ART ( anti -retro viral therapy) medicine providing centre, which could be 70 km.away.Typically they go back to unhygienic conditions, to a situation where there is no food, where they either don't take their medication, run out of it, or take it on an empty stomach. Symptoms like fever, sickness and diarrhea recur, dehydration and weakness debilitate them further, and they seek re-admission.
 |
| His first smile when given a toy! |
Many of our patients have dropped out of treatment within in their own District because of the very difficult, expensive and time consuming need to get to the ART centre, usually in the District capital, but some in sub=centres.They cannot afford the bus fares or the time (if they are lucky enough to be working as daily wage labourers or washing dishes in a roadside cafe) Appalnaidu's mother had to spend every day begging for food for herself and her two children visiting different cafe's and hotels each day, She could not find the money for the bus fare, or the time to go and collect the ART for herself and her son.
 |
| Nilaveni fungal infection and malnutrition |
It is a big defect in the distribution of ART in India that patients cannot be easily transferred to the nearest centre to our hospice (Visianagaram) for collecting their ART.In Africa nurses and local clinic staff are trained to be able to distribute ART. ART treatment uptake is better and maintained long term. This prob;em need s to be addressed by the national and state governments of India.
90% of patients are ambulatory and take showers and use the bathrooms themselves. there is a geyser supplying hot water in the winter months. Patients can keep food items that they have been given by visitors in the hospice fridge. There are air conditioning units in some rooms but these are dependent on the mains electricity supply .All food is prepared in the campus kitchen but the patients are provided with their own trays and eating vessels Patients are provided with baskets to keep home clothes in and each has a hospital type of bedside locker. There is a washing machine for hospice and personal laundry.
 |
| Playing memory game wirh patients |
The majority of our patients have opportunistic infections, side effects of starvation and malnutrition and a defective immune system. Sanyassi had HIV/AIDS, asthma, unresolved skin infections and multi-resistant TB. he had twice started a course fo TB treatment and dropped out of treatment. His HIV may also have been resistant to ART drugs because of the same start-stop regime. he was extremely stunted in growth from long term malnutrition and anaemia. His skin was probably a vitamin deficiency as it eventually improved with the protein and nutritious diet he had in the hospice.
 |
| Ramadevi reading to patients |
Although all of our patients are taken regularly to the government hospital to get their drugs, the doctors and staff there do not take much interest in the side effects the patients suffer. They distribute a few paracetamol tablets or a few days-worth of antibiotics.
The main district hospital service does not conduct viral load tests to see if the ART is working. we have repeatedly been told by the Chief Medical Officer that we would have take our children to Hyderabad ( 13 hours by train) and pay for the test if we want it done. We sent two children. They needed their drugs changing, One child died, the other survived.
 |
Appalnaidu and his mother after a year of good nutrition. Sadly Appalnaidu died. |
Apalnaidu and his Mother skin and bone
 |
| skin and bone! |
The government does not routinely check on vitamin and protein deficiencies or anaemia. We now take the children in our HIV + homes for private blood tests since one child's severe anaemia had not been picked up by the hospital despite monthly visits.
HIV+ patients suffer sickness, diarrhoea and fevers because of the vitamin and protein deficiency. They cannot tolerate the highly toxic drugs in such a condition. they ali need treatment for these deficiencies. They need a nourishing diet and food supplements.
Some patients have kidney problems - possibly as a result of the drugs which are often first generation drugs, now known to affect the kidneys and liver. India uses these drugs on her population and exports generic drugs to Africa and other countries.
Eye conditions are another side effect of HIV/AIDS, such as conjunctivitis, keratitis, and cataracts. General weakness can cause muscle pains, Fungal infections can spread through the alimentary canal and cause death. We had one patient who had not been able to eat because of a fungal infection in her mouth. After three months on a bland and sugar free diet with increased and oral hygiene,she was well again. luckily she had a supportive son and daughter in law. He was very grateful and we were able to tell him what to do if it recurred. another lady, the mother of one of our children in Thompson House, had kidney problems for a long time and was told she needed a transplant. However, being poor,and being HIV+, she was able to be operated on. She died aged 40.
Many of our patients cannot read but we have provided games and puzzles for them to occupy their time and take their minds off their problems. when the power situation allows they watch TV. We have colourful books for them to read as most will have left school before the age of 14.They like to see Cd's of stories about the Indian gods and fairy tales on my laptop.
Shortly after leaving India in Feb 2016 the little child Appalnaidu and adults Srinivasa nd Balaji died,i had got to know well them during my 5 months stay.
A Christian Pastor visits the hospice regularly. There are many psychological pressures on patients especially on widows.
 |
| Hospice patients |
Some form of physical exercise can benefit the patients. Simple walking around the grounds is easy. Some of the men like to water plants and potter around in the garden. I did regular physiotherapy with a TB patient on my last visit and gave manicures to the ladies one day, each choosing her own colour of nail varnish.
