Odisha to spend Rs 1000cr for affordable cancer care

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government will be spending Rs 1000 crores during the next five years to make cancer care accessible to people across the state at affordable rates.

As per the proposal, a specialised cancer care centre in line with the Tata Memorial Hospital will be established in Bhubaneswar to enable patients avail modern & world class cancer treatment facilities.

“While the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) in Cuttack will be upgraded to a comprehensive cancer care hospital to handle complex cases on a referral basis, the district hospitals will be equipped with Oncology speciality to offer facilities like radiotherapy and chemotherapy,” informed Chief Secretary Aditya Padhi after a meeting with senior officials of the Tata Trusts at the state secretariat today.

Padhi said the Tata Trust has recommended a three-tier step-down model focusing on prevention and early detection of cancer and making cancer care accessible by reducing the travel time to a maximum 2.5-3 hours, which would result in improved survival rates.

As per the Tata Trust's plan, the network will comprise three levels. In the first level, the Tata Trust would set up a Greenfield Hospital in Bhubaneswar and develop the infrastructure at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) in Cuttack.

In the second level, comprehensive diagnostic facilities for the treatment of cancer patients would be set up at Veer Surendra Sai Institute of Medical Sciences and Research (VIMSAR) at Burla, MKCG Medical College and Hospital in Berhampur, government medical colleges in Kalahandi and Koraput and Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.

In the third level, daycare and diagnostic facilities would be set up at the district headquarters hospitals (DHH) in Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Baripada, Nabarangpur, Balangir, Bargarh and Angul.

Besides, the Tata Trust has also recommended daycare and diagnostics in the remaining DHHs outside of its proposed network.

The estimated cost towards the infrastructure development in five years would be around Rs 1000 crore, which would be equally shared by the Tata Trust and the state government, Padhi said.

Padhi said the state government will set up Odisha Cancer Care Foundation for better treatment of cancer patients.

(Photo Source: The Telegraph)

(With PTI inputs)