Patients head to Faridkot hospital for surgery : The Tribune India

Join Whatsapp Channel

World Cancer Day

Patients head to Faridkot hospital for surgery

BATHINDA: Even as the state government has made efforts to provide treatment to cancer patients in the district, patients have to go to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot for surgery as it costs more than Rs 1 lakh in private hospital in Bathinda.

Patients head to Faridkot hospital for surgery

The Advanced Cancer Diagnostic, Treatment and Research Institute in Bathinda. A File photograph



Tribune News Service

Bathinda, February 3

Even as the state government has made efforts to provide treatment to cancer patients in the district, patients have to go to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital in Faridkot for surgery as it costs more than Rs 1 lakh in private hospital in Bathinda.

In 2012, the government claimed to have disbursed about Rs 5.31 crore among the 509 patients in Bathinda while an amount of Rs 3.71 crore was spent for free treatment of 371 patients in 2013.

In 2014, Rs 8.16 crore was disbursed among 619 patients while in 2015, an amount of Rs 8.59 crore was disbursed among 603 cancer patients in the district under the Mukhmantri Punjab Cancer Rahat Kosh Scheme.

No surgery at NCD Centre

The cancer patients cannot avail the facility of surgery under the Chief Minister Cancer Relief Fund from the Central government-run NCD (Non-Communicable Diseases) centres.

Though a number of patients are given free cancer medicine for chemotherapy treatment from the NCD centre, there are some medicines that patients have to purchase from Jan Aushadhi centre at subsidised rates.

The NCD centre was established through a Central government project on prevention and control of cancer under the National Programme for Control of Cancer, Diabetics and Cardio-Vascular Strokes (NPCDCS) in Bathinda, Mansa, Hoshiarpur and Gurdaspur.

Since its inception, the NCD centre has treated a large number of blood cancer patients and those who needed chemotherapy. More than 1,200 patients have undergone chemotherapy treatment.

Cancer patients have been provided the facility of free of cost treatment, including chemotherapy, surgery and radiotherapy, but the facilities of surgery and radiotherapy are not available.

The cancer control unit has been established with a mission to detect cancer at an early stage and help patients get rid of it.

The NCD centre is tasked to detect the symptoms of cancer among patients. The team includes a staff nurse, a laboratory technician, a counsellor and a health educator, besides oncologist.

The oncologist at the NCD centre, Bathinda, Dr Vandana Midha, said, “Medicines are available here and treatment is being given free of cost. As we lack the facility of radiotherapy treatment here, so our hospital could not be empanelled. But the radiotherapy facility is available at the ACDTRI and other empanelled hospitals and patients can avail of the facility under the scheme.”

ACDTRI lacks chemotherapy, surgery facility

The Advanced Cancer Diagnostic, Treatment and Research Institute (ACDTRI) in the district that was seen as a great relief for cancer patients in the Malwa region with first ever radiotherapy facility at government rates had failed to start giving conducting surgery on cancer patients.

However, after enough struggle, the hospital got success to get empanelled and provide treatment to patients under the Mukh Mantri Cancer Rahat Kosh Scheme, a cashless treatment scheme for cancer patients.

This came as a big relief for patients as radiation therapy costs around Rs one lakh in private hospital and Rs 10,000 at the centre.

Dr MK Mahajan, director, ACDTRI, said, “Probably till the end of this month, the facility of surgery will start here as all the furniture and equipment has reached our centre. The chemotherapy is yet to start.”

It was on October 28, 2011, when Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal laid the foundation stone of the ACDTRI here, two month after the Punjab Government signed an agreement with the Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation of India (HSCCI) for the construction of first cancer hospital of the district in public sector.

Top News

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

Delhi High Court dismisses PIL to remove Arvind Kejriwal from CM post after arrest

The bench refuses to comment on merits of the issue, saying ...

US makes another remark on Kejriwal's arrest, reacts to freezing of Congress bank accounts

US makes another remark on Arvind Kejriwal's arrest, reacts to freezing of Congress bank accounts

We encourage fair, transparent and timely legal processes, s...

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

Explainer: Why BJP is flying solo in Punjab and Odisha

A multi-cornered contest is always advantageous for BJP; it ...


Cities

View All