Cuttack, June 16: The Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre (AHRCC) will soon be upgraded to an apex cancer centre.

Union director general of health services N.K. Mohanty, who visited the premier cancer treatment centre today to take stock of the facilities available there, said: “We have plans to convert all the regional cancer centres, including the AHRCC, into apex cancer centres during the 12th five year plan.”

He said the department’s main objective was to set up apex cancer centres in all the states of the country.

Existing infrastructure at all regional cancer centres will be upgraded in a phased manner. Also, there would be one apex cancer centre for all the north-eastern states, said the health department officer.

Besides increasing the existing infrastructure, efforts will be made to deploy additional medical staff, including experienced doctors, at the upgraded apex centres.

While about 80 per cent financial assistance for the upgrade of the cancer centres will come from the central government, the balance will be borne by the respective state governments in the next three to four years.

The AHRCC is a major cancer centre in the eastern part of the country that covers not only Odisha but also neighbouring states such as Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Bengal and Jharkhand. Every year, the hospital provides treatment to 20,000 patients on an average.

The AHRCC has 216 beds and a four-bedded intensive care unit, 60 paid cabins and six recovery beds. Efforts have already begun to increase the bed capacity from 216 to 320.