Sangrur cancer hospital awaits formal inauguration

Sushil Goyal

Tribune News Service

Sangrur, May 3

Set up at a cost of Rs 51 crore on the premises of the Civil Hospital here by Tata Memorial Hospital, Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India, the 50-bed Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital still awaits its formal inauguration. The hospital authorities have requested Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to give them a date for its inauguration, but they are yet to get a word from them.

The project has come as a major relief for cancer patients of Malwa belt, especially Sangrur and Barnala districts, as earlier they had to go to far-away places for treatment.

The examination of cancer patients started at the OPD on January 20, before the completion of hospital building.

Till now, around 300 cancer patients have been examined by the doctors here. On an average, three new cancer patients visit the hospital daily.

About 12 patients have been operated upon for various types of cancer here so far. The surgeries on cancer patients were carried out at Government Rajindra Hospital, Patiala, as the operation theatres as the new building here had not become functional. However, radiotherapy and chemotherapy units were already functional here.

Six oncologists, experts in radiotherapy, chemotherapy, pathology, head and neck surgery and general surgery have been posted here so far. Besides them, seven nurses, two pharmacists, two operation theatre assistants, two radio therapy technicians, a radiographer, a laboratory technician, two medical physicists, etc., have also been appointed.

The hospital has been set up under the PPP mode. A sum of Rs 6 crore has been spent on the construction of the building by the state government while the remaining Rs 45 crore on machinery and equipment was spent by Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai.

A dharamshala for the patients’ attendants has also been constructed on 4,000 sq ft near the hospital building.