Tata Group has launched a state-of-the-art cancer hospital in Kolkata for cancer patients from the East and Northeastern states of India and neighbouring Bangladesh. The Tata Medical Centre (TMC) is modelled on the lines of Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH), Mumbai.

At the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, 25-30 % of registrations are from the Eastern, North-Eastern Regions of the country and from Nepal and Bangladesh. To provide these people access to world class Cancer Management and Care, the Tata Medical Centre Trust was formed in 2005 and the project launched.

Set up at a cost of Rs. 350 crore, the centre at Kolkata is a not-for-profit initiative to help cure the menace of cancer among people from the East and Northeast of India and also from Bangladesh.

A Rs. 350-crore fund and an additional Rs. 40 crore corpus deposit was funded by the Tata trusts, various Tata companies and Tata Sons. These donations were directed to the Tata Medical Centre Trust, which executed the project. The 14 acres super specialty cancer hospital is located at Rajarhat easily accessible from downtown Kolkata and the city’s airport.

TMC has decided to earmark about 50 per cent of its beds for free treatment of those who cannot afford it. The remaining 50 per cent of patients will be in the subsidised or paying categories and the money will be used to support the institution. The rest of the centre’s expenses will be covered by charitable donations.

The first phase of the project has 170 patients beds, with a provision for extending the capacity by a further 150 patients, excluding outpatients. A special emphasis will be given to children suffering from cancer at this centre.

TMC will have state-of-the-art equipment to ensure top-notch diagnostic and treatment services. It will set up disease management teams with experts from different streams, such as surgery, radiation oncology, medical oncology, pathology, radiology, psychiatry and medical social work. To ensure the integrity and security of the diagnostic process, patient samples, drugs and consumables will be transported across the centre through a pneumatic chute system.

With inputs from

 

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