Cuttack, July 11: The Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre's governing body has approved the 68 acres required for its second campus at Naraj during a meeting.
It also approved installation of MRI scan and PET/CT scan machines in public-private-partnership mode.
The PET/CT scan is an advanced nuclear imaging technique that combines positron emission tomography (PET) and computed tomography (CT) into one machine. It reveals information about both the structure and function of the cells and tissues in the body during a single imaging session.
The state-run centre is an autonomous institution with the state health minister functioning as its governing body's ex-officio chairman. Health minister Pratap Jena assured the centre of speeding up the process of land transfer from the revenue department to the health department.
"A second campus has become essential in view of the increasing turnout of cancer patients," hospital director Lalatendu Sarangi told The Telegraph today.
The 400-bed hospital serves thousands of cancer patients not only from Odisha, but also Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Bengal. Here, the annual patient turnout has gone up from 23,000 to nearly 33,000 in the past six years.
Inadequacies of advanced diagnostic facilities such as the MRI scan and the PET/CT scan were also discussed at the meeting held yesterday. "Introduction of advanced investigation techniques in the PPP mode was approved," Sarangi said.
At present, the centre has been managing with only CT scan facility, while there is no provision of MRI scan on its premises.
An MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) is a safe and painless test that provides detailed picture of organs and other structures inside the body of a patient.
The space crunch in the facility's outdoor block was also discussed at the meeting. "Construction of another block to expand the outdoor facility was approved, along with another floor for an academic block and library," Sarangi said.
The issue of lack of compliance of procedures - prescribed by the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board - at the centre's radiotherapy department also figured during the discussion. The board that issues licence to operate radiotherapy equipment had issued a notice to the centre related to the functioning of the brachytherapy machine. The notice, issued on July 4, has sought show cause as to why its licence should not be withdrawn.
The centre director said: "The board has given us 30 days to give reply. We will streamline the functioning of the brachytherapy machine before the deadline and submit a reply in the form of a compliance report."
An oncologiost at the radiotherapy department said brachytherapy was treatment for cancer, especially prostate cancer, by insertion of radioactive implants directly into the tissue.
