To strengthen existing infrastructure in the country; will bring world class treatment closer to patients
Tata Trusts has committed nearly Rs. 1,200 crore in the next two to three years to set up new cancer facilities and strengthen existing infrastructure in the country to bring world class treatment closer to patients.
Tata Trusts plans to build four new cancer hospitals and equip secondary level hospitals and community health centres with facilities to carry out chemotherapy, radiotherapy and minor surgeries.
Last month, the Rs. 130-crore, 180-bed Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital built in the place of the Railway Cancer Hospital in Varanasi started operations. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to formally inaugurate the hospital soon. Seven kilometres from this hospital, Tata Trusts will build a 340-bed hospital worth Rs. 350 crore inside Banaras Hindu University campus.
Buses to link hospitals
T. Anbumani, consultant with Tata Trusts, said, “The hospital will be constructed on 5.86 lakh square feet and made ready by December. There will be regular bus services between the hospitals.” He added that the hopsital would become a speciality centre for solid tumours and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital a centre for blood and paediatric cancers.
Nearly one million new cancer cases are diagnosed every year in the country and Tata Memorial Hospital in Parel sees nearly 65,000 new registrations every year, the highest cancer patient load. There’s a daily footfall of 2,000 patients, of which around 200 are new patients. Most of them travel from different States for treatment.
Mr. Anbumani said a new cancer hospital was being built near Tirupati. He said, “In Guwahati, Tata Trusts plans to construct a new hospital inside the government medical college. In Andhra Pradesh, the Centre and State governments will jointly build a 100-bed hospital with the support of Tata Trusts. In States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand there is no facility to treat breast and paediatric cancers. These new centres will be a boon for them.”
