Quoting The Statesman - Jan 14th 2005
http://www.thestatesman.net/page.news.php?clid=9&theme=&usrsess=1&id=65865
Cancer unit soon in capital
BHUBANESWAR, Jan 14. — Kalinga Hospital, a private super-speciality hospital set up here by
non-resident Oriya doctors from the US and UK, has plans to set up a
cancer
centre.
Talking to reporters here today, the managing director of the hospital,
Dr.
Saheb Sahu, said mouth and throat cancer is prevalent in Orissa because
of
the widespread use of betel and tobacco products.
The patients from Orissa are forced go to Tata Memorial Hospital in
Mumbai
and other hospitals outside the state. Kalinga Hospital has, therefore,
plans to set up a cancer centre here, he said.
A linear accelerator and a gamma camera had been sent by Oriya doctors
from
USA, which were on the transit, Dr Sahu said. An estimated Rs 3 crore
would
be required to house the expensive equipments and open a cancer ward,
he
said.
The managing director said he had contacted a few Oriya doctors, who
are
practising outside. Some of them had expressed their willingness to
join the
proposed cancer centre after the installation of equipment.
The hospital has also plans to expand eye, ENT and dental department,
increase the bed strength of ICUs for adult as well as new-born babies
and
increase the number of general beds from 25 to 30, he said.
Meanwhile, the Kalinga Hospital has launched an affordable health
insurance
scheme underwritten by the National Insurance Corporation Limited, said
Dr.
Sahu stating that for an insurance coverage of Rs 1.5 lakh the annual
premium is a meager Rs 2,500. Already 100 customers have been covered
under
the scheme, he said. Highlighting the activities of the hospital, the managing director said
free
cleft-lip and cleft-palate repair surgery was being conducted for
children
belonging to families living below the poverty line with the assistance
from
an US-based NGO, called the “Smile Train”. So far, 90 surgery cases had
been
performed while another 100 children were in the waiting list. He claimed that largest number of dialysis cases in the eastern region
were
done in the hospital. Open heart surgeries, neuro-surgery and kidney
transplants had also been conducted.
Kalinga Hospital is the only hospital in the state which has intensive
care
unit with ventilator facility to treat sick new-born and premature
babies,
said the managing director. The hospital has paid up its loans to all
the
financial institutions and is financially becoming stable. It owes
money
only to its NRO promoters, he said adding that an experienced
management
team had recently taken over.
Stating that new team, headed by him, is laying emphasis on patient
care,
the managing director said all the employees were being trained on
customer
service while a full-time patient relation manager had been appointed.
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