Andhra Pradesh Minister for Health, Medical and Family Welfare Vidadala Rajini has said that the government is setting up State cancer centres in Kadapa and Kurnool at a cost of ₹220 crore and the facilities will start functioning by October-end this year.
Ms. Rajini, along with Advisor to Government (Cancer Care) Nori Dattatreyudu and Special Chief Secretary M.T. Krishna Babu held a review meeting in the department headquarters in Mangalagiri on August 10 (Thursday).
Ms. Rajini stressed the need for bringing all the cancer hospitals in the State under the purview of the ‘cancer grid’ set up at the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital in Visakhapatnam, adding that 64 cancer hospitals in the State have been empanelled under the Aarogyasri scheme so far.
She said that the government was spending ₹120 crore on providing cancer care in all the teaching hospitals. A cancer care centre will also be set up in Guntur in the first phase and two such facilities will come up in Anantapur and Kakinada in the second phase.
She said that the government aimed at ensuring that treatment for all types of cancer was available within the State. “The government is spending about ₹600 crore annually on cancer care via Aarogyasri scheme and 648 cancer procedures are being covered under it,” the Minister said.
Dr. Dattatreyudu said that phase-wise development of cancer hospitals was going on. “A cancer screening programme will be launched for the population aged above 30 years so that cancer can be detected at early stages and treated,” he said.
Health Commissioner J. Nivas and others were present.
