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Cancer patients flood MNJ Hospital
Every day about 50 new cancer patients are diagnosed at the MNJ Cancer Hospital and close to 1,000 patients are added every month to the list who are getting treatment at the hospital. With no district level cancer units and no hospital in Andhra Pradesh to treat cancer patients, people from both the Telugu-speaking states depend on MNJ hospital.
​Hyderabad: Every day about 50 new cancer patients are diagnosed at the MNJ Cancer Hospital and close to 1,000 patients are added every month to the list who are getting treatment at the hospital. With no district level cancer units and no hospital in Andhra Pradesh to treat cancer patients, people from both the Telugu-speaking states depend on MNJ hospital.
What is bothering the medical staff is the quantum jump in patients and to add to the problem, the hospital is the only regional centre for cancer care in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. Dr N Jayalatha, Head of the Department of Radiology at MNJ hospital said, “We get patients not only from AP but even from Bidar, Hubli and small towns in Maharashtra.”
Of all the patients 50 per cent are children, especially for Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia (ALL or Blood Cancer) and 70 per cent of the patients are from rural areas.
According to Mujtaba Hasan Askari, president, Helping Hand Foundation, an NGO, which is into medical and health sector said, “Aarogyasri patients are directed to MNJ once the initial claims are made. Apart from NIMS, MNJ and MGM hospital in Warangal there is hardly any other option for the poor.”
To make matters worse, 60 per cent of the cancer patients out of the 10-12 lakh new cases every year in India are diagnosed in the advanced stage, according to WHO. Even at MNJ, the situation is no better.
Dr C Sairam, senior medical oncologist, MNJ Cancer hospital, said, “Shortage of diagnostic equipment is a serious cause for worry and the 300 beds is just not enough.” It may be noted that MNJ is also in the news every now and then as machines break down due to overloading, lack of radio therapy technologists, ACs get spoilt and costly machines remain unused. Raghu Goud, a relative of Srividya, (names changed on request) said, “Many a time patients are told to come the following day as machines are dysfunctional.”
Senior staff at the hospital said that the immediate measures that need to be taken is to increase capacity, add the number of neuro surgeons. The proposal for expanding the present MNJ Cancer Hospital is long pending and government has not yet announced a definite plan for starting the works and closure.
