BHUBANESWAR: Odisha Skill Development Authority (OSDA) Chairman Subroto Bagchi on Saturday said work on the Bagchi-Sri Shankara Cancer Centre and Research Institute is going on as per schedule and will be ready by July next year.
Bagchi and Managing Trustee of Shankara Cancer Foundation Dr BS Srinath met Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik at the latter’s residence and discussed the progress of the state-of-the-art cancer hospital in the State capital. The 750-bed super specialty cancer hospital, which will have the latest world-class equipment and facilities, is coming up at Info Valley II on 20 acre, given free of cost by the State government.
Subroto Bagchi and his wife Susmita have pledged Rs 210 crore for the cancer hospital and Rs 130 crore for a palliative care centre that is being set up in collaboration with Bengaluru-based Hospice Trust Karunashraya Foundation. After briefing the Chief Minister about the progress of the hospital, Bagchi said work on the facility was not hampered due to the Covid-19 pandemic. People are being imparted training to take care of patients. Hopefully the hospital will become operational and start treating cancer patients from Rath Yatra next year, he told mediapersons.
As per the agreement with the government, with advanced cutting-edge cancer care, the hospital will earmark 25 per cent beds for free treatment and another 25 per cent beds for patients supported under different government health schemes.
The remaining 50 per cent patients will have to pay for the services and the revenue generated will be utilised for expansion and supporting the poor. It will be an oncology centre of excellence with academic and research facilities where services like surgical, medical and radiation oncology, imaging nuclear medicine, paediatric and haemato-oncology will be available.
A year before the Bagchi Karunashraya Palliative Care Centre (BKPCC) becomes functional from its new complex under construction at Info Valley-II, it has already started providing palliative care to terminally-ill patients at their respective homes.
A city centre of BKPCC has been opened to provide specialised medical care in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack so that patients availing it can get relief from pain and other symptoms of end-stage disease.