Odisha will soon become hub of cancer care in east India: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik

Bhubaneswar: Odisha will soon become a hub of cancer care in eastern India, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik said on Friday, inaugurating new facilities at the Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer in Cuttack. Patnaik inaugurated two linear accelerators for radiotherapy and a 30-bed day-care unit. With this, the number of linear accelerators at hospital rose to four.

With the new day-care unit, the number of day-care beds rose to 42. While the state spent Rs 38 crore for the linear accelerators, the new unit cost it Rs 6 crore.

Addressing the function through video conference, Patnaik said Odisha is witnessing a massive transformation in healthcare.

Apart from strengthening the infrastructure of various public health institutions and providing free quality healthcare, the government is now focused on making Odisha a major centre of cancer care in eastern India, he said.

Besides infrastructure development for cancer care in public health institutions, the government is roping in private players for investment in the development of cancer care hospitals, he said.

A new cancer hospital is coming up in Jharsuguda, Patanaik said, maintaining that more such institutions will be developed in the next few years. The chief minister said that the entire cost of treatment at AHPGIC is borne by the government. Health Minister Niranjan Pujari said AHPGIC is a centre of excellence in cancer treatment, education and research.

The government is spending Rs 1,046 crore for free chemo-therapy and other facilities across the state, he said.