Cancer Infrastructure Requires an Upgrade: Parlimentary Panel

Cancer is one of the leading threats to public health in India, and the cancer care infrastructure is extremely inadequate and forces a majority of patients to travel far away for treatment. The systematic failure to consider the needs of patients contributes to a 20 percent higher risk of death among Indian cancer patients compared to other countries with a high Human Development Index, reports Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science, Technology, and Environment. The parliamentary panel has advised the government to upgrade the cancer treatment infrastructure and make it affordable by expanding the network of a leading healthcare institute, as it expressed concern over almost two-thirds of the patients dying in the country.

A report was submitted by the panel members to Rajya Sabha Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu, the upper house secretariat. The panel has suggested to set up a hub and spoke model under the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), which is the leader in cancer treatment and is approved by the Department of Atomic Energy.

One hub would ideally cover about four crore patients, and a spoke from 50 lakh-1 crore patients yearly. Hence, around 30 hubs and 130 spokes would be required to create and bridge the gaps in access to cancer treatment,” agents from the Tata Memorial Centre told the Committee.

Source-Medindia