Borrow healthcare, mobility devices at minimal cost

Do you have a wheelchair or a walking stick that you do not need anymore? Well, now you can pass it on to the needy.

Bangalore Baptist Hospital, the designated District Disability Rehabilitation Centre for Bengaluru Rural district, is coming up with an initiative to provide medical equipment, support and other aids at a bare minimum cost.

This will be facilitated through Mercy Drops, a community resource centre to be inaugurated on Friday. The team has already gathered over 100 such devices and equipment that can be borrowed.

Sunny Kuruvilla, associate director, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, said instead of buying costly equipment in the market, anyone can borrow them from Mercy Drops.

According to the hospital, the cost of renting a wheelchair would be anywhere between Rs 500 to Rs 800 per month elsewhere. However, Mercy Drops will offer it at Rs 50.

The hospital is also looking at a team of volunteers and community support. “Since we have the support of the hospital and a dedicated department for disinfection, their help will be sought. The money that is levied will go towards disinfecting the equipment,” said Kuruvilla.

“The concept is to promote the culture of sharing. If the community can spare what is not needed, we will give it to someone in need. These will be available to borrow from Friday,” he said.

“The idea occurred to us when the palliative care team was doing house visits and found that a lot of families could not afford mobility aids. Some others had the equipment but those were of little use after the patient’s demise or recovery,” explained Kuruvilla.

The centre will also act as a repository of information on home health care, volunteers, aids and equipment along with contact information.

Dr Naveen Thomas, director, Bangalore Baptist Hospital, said the main focus was to cater to those in need of palliative care and the specially abled. “We have experience having catered to over 60,000 patients in the rehabilitation centre and hope to further help the needy.”

Who can avail and how

Anybody can avail the equipment with proof of the patient’s medical background, for whom it is being borrowed. Be it air/water beds, nebulizers, stretchers, wheelchairs or walking sticks, those borrowing will have to pay a refundable deposit.