19 new cancer hospitals to be set up in Assam

The Assam government plans to set up 19 cancer hospitals in partnership with the Tata Trusts in the next two years as part of its plan to provide modern medical treatment to cancer patients in the state, state health minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said on Monday.

The foundation stone of the hospitals, which would be established under the banner of Assam Cancer Care Foundation (ACCF), will be laid on June 17 with Tata Trusts chairman Ratan N Tata, scheduled to be part of the ceremony, Sarma said while addressing a press conference here.

“ACCF will construct and run these hospitals. The venture is expected to provide succour to cancer patients from the state who have to travel outside for treatment,” the senior BJP leader added.

Giving details of the project, Sarma said nearly ₹2,000 crores would be spent on the hospitals that would be set up across the state on a three-tier basis.

Nearly 35,000 new cancer cases are detected each year in Assam and the figure is expected to rise significantly in the coming years. Around 70% of these cases are detected at an advanced stage, leading to higher mortality.

Due to lack of adequate infrastructure and skilled medical personnel in the north-eastern state, most of the patients are forced to go outside for treatment, increasing their expenses.

In order to ensure the patients are able to receive treatment closer to home, the state government and Tata Trusts formed ACCF in December last year as a joint partnership.

As part of the three-tier plan, small cancer care centres will be set up to enable diagnosis and initial treatment . This is expected to provide better treatment, reduce load on cancer hospitals in the state capital and also bring down expenditure for patients.

Sarma also announced the setting up of two new dental colleges with seat capacity of 50 students each. The existing regional dental college in Guwahati admits 100 students each year.

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