Haryana Health Minister Anil Vij said on July 24 that the first Government ‘Cancer Care Centre’ to be set up at Civil Hospital, Ambala Cantonment would benefit around 50 lakh people of the nearby areas.

Stating this while laying the foundation stone of the centre at Ambala Cantt, which would be built at cost of Rs 56 crore, Mr Vij said that the construction agency has been directed to complete the work by February, 2019. The four storey building would be constructed by the HLL Enterprise of Union Health Ministry and the Agency had started the construction work from today. The centre would have all the facilities for cancer patients including radiography and surgery.

The Minister said that the number of cancer patients was rising alarmingly day by day. There are 25 lakh people cancer patients in our country and every year about seven lakh more were diagnosed with cancer. In India about 5.56 lakh people die due to cancer every year. The cancer treatment being very costly in the private sector, the common man could not usually afford the treatment. The patients face lots of troubles in getting treatment form PGI due to heavy rush of patients. On his request, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare JP Nadda gave approval for this project.

Mr Vij said that the Ambala Cantonment remained neglected for a long time in providing health care facilities. The present government had set up a one of the best Government hospitals in Ambala at a cost of Rs 50 crore. The doctors not only from Haryana but from around the globe including Singapore visit the hospital and appreciate the health services provided here.

The hospital is equipped with all the facilities including Cath lab, dialysis, ultra sound etc among the all government hospitals of India, Ambala Civil Hospital was the first one to provide Cath lab facility. Cath labs would be provided in all the districts of the State after the completion of one year study on this lab. About one thousand heart patients have been treated and provided stent in this hospital so far, he added.

Refuting the allegations by some people that only Ambala is developing in terms of health benefits, Mr Vij said that the renovation of all the existing hospitals of the state including Shahbaad, Kurukshetra, Jagadhri and Panipat was in progress. More efforts had been made by the present government as compared to the previous governments for the improvement of civil hospitals of the state, he said.

There is 20 per cent increase in OPD patients and Ambala itself has witnessed 2000 patients per day as compared to 124 patients during 2014. With the efforts of the health department, the Child Mortality rate had been reduced to 33 as compared to 41 earlier and Maternal mortality rate reduced to 101 as compared to 127 earlier, Mr Vij added.