SHILLONG, April 18 - The Union Health Ministry has approved construction of a 250-bed cancer hospital within the premises of the North Eastern Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS), which would be functional within the next three years.
Speaking to The Assam Tribune, NEIGRIHMS Director DM Thapa, who took charge on Saturday, said today that the hospital would be called the Regional Cancer Centre and is being built by Larsen and Tubro on a turnkey basis. The work on the project has begun this year.
�The new hospital would be a huge boon for the people of the region, especially for head and neck cancer patients, as the region has a high prevalence of the disease,� Thapa said.
There would also be a 30-room guest house built adjoining the centre. �These new facilities are being built for the benefit of people coming from faraway places for treatment of cancer,� he informed.
Moreover, the medical, nursing college, hostels for the students and interns are also being built under the same project. The total cost of the project is Rs 360 crore.
�Once the facilities for the medical and nursing colleges come up and also the other facilities under the ongoing project, the hospital would have a larger space and these would help us provide facilities to the patients,� the new Director said.
Giving details about the institute, he said that on an average 1,400 patients are treated at the NEIGRIHMS on a daily basis. The 530 beds in the hospital are almost always filled and therefore there is a need for further expansion.
�My focus as a Director would be to empower people by breaking barriers. There may be shortcomings in the institute, but we are willing to hear people�s grievances and overcome those shortcomings,� Thapa said.
As part of the new initiative to be undertaken, the Director said that the institute would try to reach out to the people by holding health camps and melas in rural areas and also focus on research.
�One of my priorities would be research. It is only through research we can find solutions to problems,� Thapa said.
Thapa also promised that a dedicated spokesperson and public relation officer for the institute would be identified soon to inform about the different facilities and disseminate information of the Institute to the public.
