Full-fledged facilities at KGH, GGH, Kurnool in 6 months

Vijayawada: Special Chief Secretary (Medical, Health and Family Welfare) M T Krishna Babu has said cancer treatment facilities will be provided in a full-fledged manner at the KGH, Vizag and GGH Kurnool in the next six months and later these facilities will be extended to the government hospitals in Kakinada and Anantapur.

He said the government was trying to increase the cancer screening and treatment facilities in the State in a gradual manner. He said National Cancer Grid-AP Chapter has to play a key role in creating a common platform for government and private Hospitals to treat the cancer patients under Aarogyasri Scheme in the State.

He also mentioned about the roadmap for comprehensive cancer care in the State which is planned in a phased manner.

Krishna Babu has addressed the doctors, Aarogyasri trust members and others on the second and concluding day of the first anniversary celebrations of the establishment of National Cancer Grid-AP State Chapter, at NATCO Cancer Centre, GGH Guntur, on Saturday.

The anniversary function was conducted in collaboration with Dr YSR Aarogyasri Health Care Trust for two days on June 30 and July 1.

Krishna Babu acknowledged the support and collaborative efforts of National Cancer Grid, Tata memorial Hospital and Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Visakhapatnam (A Unit of Tata Memorial Centre, Mumbai) for AP State Health for cancer care activities. He said the theme of annual meeting was “Implementing NCG guidelines for common cancers to achieve affordable evidence-based cancer care for all under AB-PMJAY Dr YSR Aarogyasri scheme.”

The two-day meeting focused on implementing evidence-based and affordable uniform treatment protocols for the five common cancers (breast, cervical, head & neck, lung and gastric cancers) in the State.

NCG guidelines, Ayushman Bharat and existing treatment packages in Aarogyasri were reviewed by a panel of experts - surgical, medical, radiation oncologists & pathologists and suggestions on revising existing packages and introduction of new packages so that poor patients benefit further from the health schemes.

Dr Umesh Mahant Shetty, convenor, National Cancer Grid, Andhra Pradesh Chapter, and Director of Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre, Visakhapatnam said that the State was the second State in the country to have a State chapter after Kerala. It was established through a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Andhra Pradesh and Tata Memorial Centre, with Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital & Research Centre (HBCHRC Visakhapatnam) as the coordinating centre.

Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), which is a grants-in-aid institution established under the aegis of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE, Govt. of India), had pioneered the creation of a National Cancer Grid (NCG) in collaboration with major cancer centres, research institutes, patient groups and charitable institutions across India, in 2012.

The NCG-AP Secretariat was inaugurated by Health Minister Vidadala Rajini in July 2022 at HBCHRC, Visakhapatnam.

NCG- AP Chapter network in past one year has successfully increased its staff strength, started virtual tumour boards (National & State level) for optimizing cancer treatments, trained doctors and nurses. Dr YSR Arogyasri Health Care Trust CEO M N Harendhira Prasad, DME Dr DSLV Narasimham, NATCO vice-president Nannapaneni Sadasivarao, representative from NATCO Ashok Kumar, doctors from the government and private hospitals attended the first anniversary.