KOLKATA: With Bengal registering approximately 80,000 new cancer cases every year, hospitals in the city are bursting at the seams. In fact, at Tata Medical Centre , patients sometimes have to wait for two months for a surgery. In such a scenario, Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute (CNCI)’s brand new 500-bed hospital in Rajarhat will be a boon for patients, especially those from the lower economic strata.CNCI’s new campus, located a few blocks away from Tata Medical Centre, will provide state-of-the-art and affordable cancer treatment.An autonomous body under the central government, CNCI is the only governmentrun cancer specialty hospital in the state. Apart from nuclear medicine facility, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, preventive oncology and palliative care, the new campus will have advanced diagnostic services and the latest equipment.“The civil work is the on the verge of completion. We expect the buildings to be handed over by September. Tender for machines and equipment has been floated and the process for recruitment of human resources is expected to start soon,” said CNCI director Dr Tapas Maji.The Centre had approved Rs 534 crore for the first phase of this campus in the beginning of 2014. Built on 10 acres, the hospital will also cater to patients from other states in the eastern and north eastern regions, since the number of cancer patients is increasing.“We get an average of 1,000 patients in our OPD every day and the load is increasing. We are adding 254 beds, that should be operational by September,” said Dr V R Ramanan , deputy director (medical) at Tata Medical Centre.“One good thing that has happened in the state is that all government hospitals have made cancer treatment, including costly drugs, available for free. But the government should be more proactive in maintaining a registry that will show the accurate cancer burden in the state,” said Dr Gautam Mukhopadhyay , an oncologist attached with Ruby Hospital In addition to the latest linear accelerator machines, the new CNCI complex will have PET/CT scan facilities, modular operation theatres, as well as a dedicated wing for paediatric oncology.“Rs 159 crore is being pumped in only for machines. This new campus will have a shelter facility for patients’ relatives as most families who come to our hospital cannot afford to rent hotel rooms,” added Maji.Started in 1950, the existing CNCI facility in Hazra has only 200 beds. An expansion plan in 2005 had to be aborted as the available land was insufficient. The proposal for the Rajarhat unit was made in 2008. “It has taken almost a decade since then. But things have moved quite fast. Hopefully, the hospital will see its gates being thrown open before the 2019 elections,” said a CNCI source.

Stay updated with all the Kolkata Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.