CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court on Tuesday issued notice to the State government on a PIL seeking PET-CT scan facility at the Acharya Harihar Post Graduate Institute of Cancer(AHPGIC) in Cuttack. The division bench of Justice S Muralidhar and Justice SK Mishra said the State government should file an affidavit before the Court by the next hearing date on what steps it proposes to take for setting up PET-CT units at the various government hospitals including AHPGIC. “A fairly important issue has been raised in the petition about the lack of PET-CT scan at AHPGIC, Cuttack, and other medical colleges having oncology department for treatment of cancer”, the bench observed.
The petition was filed by Anita Budhia, a 50-year-old cancer patient undergoing treatment at AHPGIC, who had asked why the institute did not have PET-CT scan facility despite being a leading cancer institute in eastern India and the only government-run hospital for treatment of cancer in the State. PET-CT scan is a vital test required for detecting if a cancer cell has spread to body parts of a patient other than the initial organ. Arguing the case for the petitioner, lawyer Arun Kumar Budhia said of the 500 patients who turn up at the cancer hospital to avail outdoor service every day, an average 25 patients are advised to undergo PET-CT scan. “Of these patients who can afford the tests rush to the private centres while others stay behind and surrender to the mercy of God, he contended.
The State Counsel MS Sahoo assured the Court that there is a scheme under which those needing such facilities, on emergency basis, are being referred to the private hospitals where the facilities are available and cost is reimbursed by the State. The bench posted the case to February 1 and said, “As far as the present petition is concerned, not later than 4 pm tomorrow (Wednesday), the petitioner will be referred to the appropriate private medical facility where she can undergo PET-CT scan. A report of compliance be placed before the Court by the next date”.
According to the petition, there is only one private diagnostics centre in Cuttack - Add Annex Health Care Private Limited that provides the service at a price of around Rs 23, 000 apart from the two other private centres - Utkal Hospital at Bhubaneswar and Panda Curie in Telengapentha.