KOCHI: Health Minister V S Sivakumar on Saturday reiterated that the State Government was proposing to build the cancer centre at Ernakulam Government Medical College campus on the annuity mode.
While inaugurating the de-addiction ward at the Ernakulam General Hospital, the Minister said that the government would expedite the process of setting up the cancer centre and it would only have the status of a regional cancer centre.
The Minister had stated in the Assembly a few weeks ago that the annuity mode would be followed for the cancer centre while answering a query by Aluva MLA Anwar Sadath.
This was after Chief Minister Oommen Chandy had said outside the House that possibilities of raising Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds of companies and floating of a lottery for setting up the cancer centre would be explored since objections were raised about the annuity mode.
Sivakumar also said at the function that the linear accelerator in cancer treatment would be sanctioned for the General Hospital under the Sukrutham scheme.
He said the government would set up more centres that would take care of de-addiction as well as mental health care across the state.
All doctors in government hospitals would be given training in mental health care, he added.
He pointed out that the government had already launched the ‘Madhumukthi’ project in association with Kudumbasree which aimed at bringing those that were addicted to de-addiction centres from their houses after visiting them.
A plan fund of Rs 25 lakh is being spent to set up the General Hospital de-addiction ward which has 14 beds.
Apart from medical treatment, other facilities available here would be psycho, social interventions and yoga and music therapies. Monitoring for those that were cured would be done at the out-patient wing.
Hibi Eden MLA presided over the function. Excise and Ports Minister K Babu launched the website of the General Hospital on the occasion.
