Adur Pradeep, OP
One of the major attractions in the Union Budget 2018-19 presented by finance minister Arun Jaitely in Parliament was the introduction of Ayushman Bharat scheme. Through the National Health Protection Scheme, the government wants to cover more than 10 crore poor and vulnerable families, or almost 50 crore people in the country. While talking to Orissa POST, Dr Priyabrata Dhir, chairman and managing director of Sparsh Hospitals & Critical Care, said, “The Ayushman Bharat scheme announced by the government will be beneficial for poor people. It is a good step.”
Dr Dhir, a specialist in onco surgery and treatment who started Sparsh Hospital in Odisha 11 years ago, observed that the number of cancer patients has been increasing in the country.
“The major reasons for the increase in number of cancer patients in the country are tobacco chewing and smoking. The lifestyle and food habits that we have been following also contributed to the alarming scenario. It is important to realise that prevention is better than cure. One should go for regular check-up to ensure that their health is in fine condition.”
The number of cancer patients in Odisha has also been increasing due to the use of tobacco and tobacco products and unhealthy lifestyle.
More than 11 lakh new cases of cancer are being reported in India every year and the figure is expected to cross 20 lakh by 2020, according to several studies. A total of 50,000 to 60,000 new cancer patients are being detected in the state every year. As per some estimates, the state has around three lakh cases of surviving cancer patients and 70 to 80 per cent of these are detected at advanced stages of the disease.
As per the Global Adult Tobacco Survey 2017, there are 26.7 crore tobacco users in India and 5,500 children initiate tobacco use every day. One-third of these tobacco users will die prematurely.
Sparsh Hospital, a 100-bed multi-specialty private hospital in the state, started functioning in Bhubaneswar from February 2, 2007.
While talking about the expansion plans of Sparsh, Dr. Dhir said: “At present, we are running 100-bed hospitals in Bhubaneswar and Sambalpur. We are planning a 400-bed hospital in Mancheswar. The first phase (around 150 beds) of its operations will commence by October this year. It is an oncological wing. We will have all three oncology sectors – surgical, medical and radiation. This project is associated with the American Oncology Institute (AOI), a Hyderabad-based chain of cancer hospitals founded by a team of leading oncologists at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Centre in the US.
AOI had commenced its operations in Bhubaneswar in collaboration with Sparsh in November last year. The dedicated cancer treatment and diagnostic centre will provide advanced medical oncology and surgical oncology services for all types of cancers for all age groups. (PNN)