Satseva – India’s First Home Care Programs


Patient outreach through home care

The first of its kind in India, a pioneering effort, our Patient Outreach Programme SATSEVA was launched on 1st December, 1994.
It was launched as a service based on the concept of providing succour to the needy cancer patients’ right at their doorstep in Pune City. The primary object was to improve the quality of residual life. The services include pain management, symptom control, providing supportive care equipment and the much-needed emotional and
psychological support to the patients as well as their family members. The line of treatment for palliative care is provided in accordance with the World Health Organisation guidelines.

Oral morphine along with other adjuvant drugs are administered to bring cancer pain adequately under control. While administering oral morphine, there are some side effects which are required to be controlled by doctors during the first eight to ten days till such time the patient develops tolerance to the side effects of the drugs. During this period, our doctors have to visit the newly registered patients every day.

Once a patient is stabilized and the dosage of drugs is established, the patient is visited two to three times a week or as the need may be. Our home care programs work on these principles of providing adequate pain management. The families are trained, equipped with supportive care equipment, counselled for emotional needs and psychologically prepared to cope with the changing situations during the last stages. Everything that is possible to ensure patient’s comfort and respect. A sub-centre of SATSEVA was also started at Barshi on 1st January 1999 as a rural outreach programme in cooperation with the Nargis Dutt Memorial Cancer Hospital.

This is a unique model of patient outreach program specific to sentiments and psychology of patients and their families in the context of the Indian way of life which has been well received and has been described as a great support to them in the hour of need and during the period of grief


The services rendered are:

  • Administering oral morphine along with other adjuvant drugs to bring Cancer pain adequately under control. While administering oral morphine, there are some side effects which are required to be controlled by doctors during the first eight to ten days till such time the patient develops tolerance to the side effects of the drugs. During this period, our doctors have to visit the newly registered patients every day.  Once a patient is stabilized and the dosage of drugs is established, the patient is visited two to three times a week or as the need may be. Our home care programs work on these principles of providing adequate pain management
  • Families are trained, equipped with supportive care equipment, counselled for emotional needs and psychologically prepared to cope with the changing situations during the last stages.
  • Everything that is possible to ensure patient’s comfort and respect patient’s faith and beliefs for dignity of life during terminal stages of cancer are catered for and provided.

For over decade and a half years, SATSEVA has been providing these services right at the patient’s doorstep free of cost with the encouragement and financial support of philanthropic donors.