Kannur sources have stated that it is a squad armed with a social spirit, and an urge to care for the sick. Its members belong not to a public health agency, but to the Kerala Armed Police Battalion IV, stationed at Mangattuparamba here and their training helps them handle difficult law and order situations but here, they must go gentle and lend a helping hand to patients who need support and treatment.
The personnel offer palliative care to more than 200 patients, including those who are terminally ill, on a regular basis. They also teach caregivers the scientific way to support such patients. The spare time the personnel find is devoted to the humanitarian initiative, and they are aided by a medical team and a group of local volunteers.
The Mythri Pain and Palliative
Society (MPPS) is the initiative of the battalion personnel. With the support
system of the police force, it has offered palliative care to over 1,300
patients since its inception in 2008. The battalion Commandant K. Sanjay Kumar
Gurudin, who has served as District Police Chief here in the past, had added
that "With the MPPS initiative, we have come across many cases in which
patients, including those from rich families, are almost locked up in
segregated rooms, and with our intervention the volunteers could start
treatment".