SHILLONG, March 20: The Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) at the North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (NEIGRIHMS) is in its finishing stages battling minor delays and is likely to be functional by June.
“It is nearing completion with just a few formalities pending like certification. We are in the finishing stages battling minor delays. The fully completed building with fire safety, completion and occupation certification will be ready by June,” NEIGRIHMS Director, Prof Nalin Mehta said on Sunday
On the delay, he said that even when COVID-19 settled down they could not get the number of workers as most of them never returned and the workforce was considerably reduced.
“One of the issues is that documentation like fire safety, occupancy certificates and those kinds of things take time. We are progressing well and hope to get it done soon,” he added.
The NEIGRIHMS Director further said that they have some faculties and the process of recruitment has already started. “We are awaiting the response from the Union Ministry and for urgent recruitment we may make some arrangements locally before the interview takes place,” he added.
Enquired about the number of doctors, nurses and staff required for the RCC, he said, “We need doctors, resident doctors, nurses, sanitary personnel, staff technicians and lab technicians. It is a whole new centre so we are looking at 500-plus people in all areas of healthcare because it will function as a mini cancer hospital.”
It may be mentioned that the need for a good cancer hospital in Meghalaya has been felt for a long time.
As per the National Cancer Registry Programme, Cancer Statistics of 2020, East Khasi Hills has the highest relative proportion of cancer cases associated with the use of tobacco for both males and females.
The 66.9% tobacco-related cancer in men and 43.1% in women in the district is the highest in the country.