KOCHI: The outpatient unit of the Kochi cancer centre will start functioning most probably by November. This was decided by a three-member team that visited the buildings under possession of the Ernakulam Government Medical College on Thursday to identify a building to start the OP wing.
The team comprised Health Secretary Dr K Elangovan, Kochi cancer centre special officer Dr V P Gangadharan and Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram Director Dr Paul Sebastian. The team selected a building which is now being constructed to house the pay-ward of the medical college, after inspecting three buildings. Since the contractor of the building had gone to court over pending payment for the work done so far, the same will be disbursed to him first to free it from legal hassles.
“Since it was being constructed to house the pay-ward, some changes have to be made to the structure to make it suitable for the OP section. The Kerala State Construction Corporation Limited will complete the construction. We will have to get the Government sanction for the amount to be spent for completing the construction.
The State Cabinet has to approve the offer of `10 crore from the coffers of Kerala Beverages Corporation offered by the Excise Minister. Once funds are available, nothing stands as a hindrance to the objective of starting the cancer centre,” said Dr Elangovan.
The engineering department attached to the medical college has been asked to prepare an estimate for the completion of the rest of the work on the building by incorporating the modifications needed for the OP wing.
The Health Secretary said that a team comprising Dr Gangadharan, Dr Paul Sebastian and Asha Thomas, MD, Kerala Books and Publishing Society, who was appointed liaison officer of the cancer centre, will chart a blueprint for starting the OP. Dr Elangovan said the Law Department has approved the proposal to the register the cancer centre as a society. “We hope to complete the construction of the cancer centre in two-three years,” he said.