Bhubaneswar: Health Minister Naba Kisore Das Wednesday said that easily accessible healthcare is the need of the hour and the state government is committed to ensure that the benefits reach the poor and the marginalised.
The minister was speaking at the inauguration of the day care cancer centre of the HCG in the City. Speaking at the event, the minister said, “Odisha government is taking the right steps to ensure the aims and objectives are achieved. Easily accessible healthcare is the need of the hour.”
The event was also attended by Bhubaneswar North MLA Sushant Kumar Raut. The day care of HCG was intended to provide chemotherapy for patients without being admitted to hospital. The HCG day care cancer centre has been planned to provide specialist oncology consultation, medical oncology services that includes chemotherapy, diagnostic services like mammography, pathology and others.
Speaking on the occasion, Medical Director of HCG Krupasindhu Panda said, “With this, we want to ensure that people get the access to the specialists from the comfort of their homes. Together with our team of clinical experts and support from stakeholders, we encourage cancer patients to win over the disease.”
Government data suggests that around 25,000 patients die of cancer in Odisha every year. A study by the National Centre for Disease Informatics and Research (NCDIR), a wing of the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), claimed in 2016 that 49,674 persons were detected with cancer in the state while 25,035 died due to the disease in the same year.