Cuttack, Sept. 18: Orissa High Court has pulled up the state government for delay in the functioning of linear accelerators, an advanced device used in cancer treatment that was installed six months ago at Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre.

This centre is the only government-run cancer hospital in the state.

The high court has directed the state government to take within 15 days the steps required under Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) norms, prior to operation of linear accelerators (Linacs) installed along with computerised tomography (CT) simulators at the hospital for nearly Rs 50 crore.

The court said the government could not take it easy because no licence would be issued by AERB to the hospital for operating the Linacs for radiation therapy and CT simulator unless the norms were adhered to.

Linacs are very important to identify the damaged cells and to apply radiotherapy properly so that it kills cancer cells without destroying healthy ones, say cancer experts. CT simulation is a process used by the radiotherapy team to determine the exact location and size of the area to be treated.

The 240-bed hospital is the only hope for thousands of cancer patients of not only Odisha but also parts of neighbouring states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bengal.

The division bench of Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice S.C. Parija issued the direction to the health secretary on September 15 to file a compliance affidavit.

Earlier, after the bar pointed out the delay, the court had, on July 24, directed the state government to fulfil the AERB norms so that the Linacs could be started. On August 21, the state counsel had sought two more weeks to file compliance affidavit.

According to affidavits filed by the state government and the hospital, installation of two Linacs and CT simulator in the Linac block on the hospital premises was completed in March 2015. The AERB granted approval for provisional commissioning of Linacs on July 6.

AERB's provisional approval was based on the undertaking by the hospital director to ensure the requisite technical and teaching staff in radiation oncology and medical physics departments before applying for operating licence.

"This is extremely important because once the necessary staff members are selected, they have to be sent to the AERB for training and certification. We hope and trust that the state and, in particular the principal secretary of the state health and family welfare department will take up this issue with the necessary seriousness and urgency that it deserves," the court said in its order.

At present, the Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre manages with 15-year-old Cobalt machines that provide radiotherapy treatment that is not as precise as Linacs.

"Once the Linacs start functioning, patients can avail it at less than 50 per cent of what it costs in private hospitals," a cancer specialist at the hospital said.

In the couple of private hospitals in Bhubaneswar that have Linacs, each session of radiotherapy costs nearly Rs 4,000. A cancer patient typically needs between 25 and 30 sessions.