A basement plus three floors in a 12-storey building will be for the centre; Sion second civic hospital to have facility after BYL Nair
The plan for the cancer care centre to be built at the Lokmanya Tilak Municipal General Hospital and Medical College, popularly known as the Sion hospital
Soon, a dedicated building for cancer care will come up at the BMC-run Sion hospital and medical college. After BYL Nair Hospital, this will be the second BMC hospital that will have a separate building for cancer treatment. In the initial phase, the hospital will have around 40 beds for cancer patients and diagnosis facilities.
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In the last few years, on average, around 65,000 new cancer patients have registered at Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) hospital in Mumbai. Many of these patients first come to BMC tertiary care hospitals for treatment, but with limited cancer facilities available in municipal hospitals, Mumbaikars often visit or are referred to Tata Hospital for treatment. Given this, the municipal administration is bringing new projects one after the other to increase the facilities for cancer treatment at hospitals.
The project
The building construction is expected to be complete within two years. As per sources, common cancers like breast cancer, cervical cancer, oral, and leukaemia in children and tumour-related cancer treatment facilities will be available.
Suresh Kakani, additional municipal commissioner
A senior doctor from Sion hospital said, “A 12-floor building will come up, in which a basement plus three floors will be dedicated to cancer treatment. In the basement, there will be a radiation therapy centre, on the first floor an OPD, an IPD (indoor patients department) on the second floor and an operation theatre on the third floor. An estimated R60 crore will be spent on this project.” OPD to surgery and other daycare facilities will be available under one roof. The hospital will have 40 beds, in which both adult and paediatric patients will be treated.
Additional Municipal Commissioner Suresh Kakani said, “The incidence of cancer among people has increased in a decade. Currently, we have one oncology OPD in Nair hospital. In major BMC hospitals, the doctors conduct basic surgeries related to cancer. But when it comes to diagnosis and advanced treatment, doctors have to refer patients to Tata hospitals. After accessing the current scenario, BMC has decided to build a dedicated building for cancer treatment in Sion hospital. The hospital will have diagnostic machines like PET scans, mammography, radiation therapy machines, etc. We will hire oncology doctors and surgeons. The initial phase will start with these facilities, and if advanced treatment is needed, only then will we send our patients to Tata.”
Waiting time will be reduced
Prof Dr Sudeep Gupta, director, Tata Memorial Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer, Kharghar, said, “If such facilities are available in BMC hospitals, it will help patients a lot. The waiting time will be reduced and patient load will get divided.”
Dr Avinash Supe, medical director of Hinduja Hospital, Khar, and former director of major BMC hospitals, said, “Every year many cancer patients come to BMC hospitals for treatment. If Nair and Sion hospitals get dedicated cancer treatment centres, it will be very helpful for patients.”
The former Public Relations Officer of Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) Humayun Jafri said, “TMC is the only public hospital in the city that provides treatment for the poor, lower middle class and middle-class patients. If BMC comes up with two cancer hospitals with at least primary or secondary health care facilities then it will be a boon for patients who are from the economically weaker sections of society.”
65k
Avg. No. of new patients at Tata Memorial every year
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