Kathua, Sep 24: Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh on Sunday launched the Jammu and Kashmir’s first ever state-of-of-art Tata Memorial Center (TMC) Mumbai affiliated Cancer Care Unit in the new block of Government Medical College Kathua. He said the facility will cater to three territories of J&K, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh.
The minister said he felt pained to receive calls every morning from different parts of the region from desperate family members pleading to arrange admission of cancer patients at Tata Hospital Mumbai or arrange accommodation for the attendants. He then decided to start the Tata affiliated facility at Kathua and thus moved the papers in the Department of Atomic Energy which is the controlling authority of Tata Memorial Center Mumbai.
Dr Jitendra said that with increasing lifespan, changing lifestyles, environmental factors, etc, the prevalence of cancer is assuming epidemic proportions and cancers of all nature and all organs are happening everywhere. A Tata satellite Cancer care facility in Kathua will therefore prove to be a great boon for the region, he said.
He said that under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, satellite hospitals and facilities of Tata Memorial Centre have been started in different parts of the country and in Guwahati, even Onco DM and Mch super-specialty courses have been started which option could be later contemplated for Kathua as well.
The union minister said Udhampur-Kathua-Doda Parliamentary Constituency could be the future ‘Health Circuit’ of the region with state-of-the-art healthcare facilities like 3 Centrally funded Medical Colleges, North India’s First Biotech Park Kathua, Centrally funded Ayurvedic College Kishtwar, National Institute of High Altitude Medicine Bhaderwah, upcoming Homeopathy College at Kathua, etc. “With the establishment of the Day-care Chemotherapy (Onco-care) Unit at GMC Kathua today, cancer treatment is going to become accessible and affordable as the missing link has been completed today for affordable and accessible cancer treatment in the area,” he said.
Dr Singh was addressing a large gathering after inaugurating the much-needed Day-care Cancer Chemotherapy Unit. On the occasion, he also inaugurated a Maternal ICU and voluntarily funded a 300 LPM Oxygen Plant at GMC Kathua.
The minister said onco-care will be upgraded in GMC Kathua in coming years as Onco DM and MCH seats will be provided to it and world-class cancer specialists will be invited here for treatment, lectures and seminars.
During the inauguration, Dr Jitendra Singh said, “Affordable, accessible healthcare is the roadmap for ‘Healthy India’ under PM Narendra Modi which is evident from the fact that more than 260 new medical colleges have been established in the country with 79% increase in MBBS seats, 93 % increase PG seats in 9 years and 22 AIIMS have been approved.”
