Chief Minister Oommen Chandy on Friday dedicated to the state the new building of the Regional Cancer Centre, which is on par with private hi-tech hospitals. He also inaugurated the first public sector PET scan unit in the state, which has been installed at the new block.
With the commissioning of the new multi-storeyed building, the space crunch at RCC can be solved to a great extent. Apart from the new building, the government has allotted 15 acres of land at Pulayanarkotta in order to develop the functions of RCC. Health Minister V S Sivakumar inaugurated the Anaesthesia Simulator Laboratory here.
The new building, built at a cost of Rs 38 crore, will house the outpatient clinics, Nuclear Medicine Department, Epidemiology division and Academic Divisions. It will also have the administrative division and a mini data centre.
National Institute status
Inaugurating the building, Chandy said that the government had always given importance to the health of the people. “Cancer patients have been increasing in the state. The government has given much prominence to cancer treatment in the last 4 and a half years. He also mentioned that the state government has approached the Centre seeking National Institute status for RCC.
Another new RCC
Meanwhile, Sivakumar said that another new for RCC will be constructed on the premises at a cost of Rs 170 crore. Stating that the government has done many things for the development of RCC, he said that the institute had got the NABH accreditation. RCC director Paul Sebastin, RCC founder director Krishnan Nair and medical College principal Dr Thomas Mathew were present.
Master plan of Medical College alumni
Thiruvananthapuram Medical College Alumni Association presented a master plan for the development of the college called Vision Plan 2040 to the Chief Minister.
What the plan aims?
The aim of the plan is to provide a peaceful and green atmosphere in the campus
It envisagesd rebuilding a brand equity for the college as centre of excellence by ensuring uniformity in facade design
Vision 2040 seeks scientific parking spaces, remodelling of traffic patterns, amenity centres for patients, revitalisation of the hostels, sustainable waste management system, rain water harvesting, solar power generations and creation of bio diversity parks
Renovated Central Library inaugurated
The CM also inaugurated the renovated the Central Library and Anatomy lecture hall, which were carries out by the Alumni association. Sivakumar inaugurated the 11th annual convention of TMC Alumni Association. Alumni association president Dr M I Sahadullah, Vice president Dr C John Panicker and others were present at the inauguration.
As part of the convention on Saturday, a seminar on ‘Updates in Transplant Medicine’ will be held.
Kerala’s cancer conundrum
The state presently has two specialised cancer institutes, the Regional Cancer Centre in Thiruvananthapuram and the Malabar Cancer Centre in Thalassery
Malabar Cancer Centre is ill-equipped to deal with the rising number of cancer patients
RCC caters to around 2,17,000 cancer patients a year from within the state and outside
In 2013-14, 14,903 new cases were registered at the centre
70% of them from lower income groups
Since 1981, the number of cancer patients seeking treatment at RCC has risen by 300%