Odisha to spend Rs 1,000 cr on cancer care programme

A roadmap for the implementation of Odisha Comprehensive Cancer Care Programme has been worked out with an outlay of Rs 1,000 crore, an official said on Monday.

Initially, Rs 1,000 crore has been provisioned for the programme which will be shared by the Odisha government and Tata Trust on 50:50 basis, the official said.

The roadmap has been prepared in the first advisory committee meeting held under the chairmanship of Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi here.

The entire programme will be managed and monitored under the guidance of the advisory committee.

One Special Purpose Vehicle -- Odisha Cancer Care Foundation -- will be constituted as a management entity under the chairmanship of the state Health and Family Welfare Secretary.

Considering the draft work plan, Padhi directed to make the entire programme outcome-oriented with a focus on preventive and clinical care.

He also directed for the spread of cancer care clinical units across different regions of the state for easy access to patients.

Development Commissioner R. Balakrishnan advised constituting district-level multi-task cancer care committees for proper integration and implementation of the programme.

A state-of-the-art Tata Memorial Hospital will be established at Bhubaneswar to serve as Level-1 hospital with all superspecialty care, the official said.

The Odisha government will provide 25 acres of land free of cost for the hospital.

The Acharya Harihar Cancer Care Hospital at Cuttack will be upgraded to level-1 hospital. It has been proposed to set up level-2 units in government medical colleges at Sambalpur (Burla), Kalahandi, Ganjam (Berhampur), Koraput and Capital Hospital in Bhubaneswar.

Level-3 units will be set up at government hospitals in Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Baripada, Balasore, Bolangir, Bargarh, Nabarangpur and Angul. Wider awareness and screening programmes at the community level would be ensured for prevention of cancer.

--IANS

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