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Punjab FM skips fund for Bathinda cancer institute in budget
Patients from Malwa region are forced to travel to Faridkot and Ludhiana in absence of the PET-CT scan machine, crucial for diagnosis and assessment of malignant cells
The state-run Advanced Cancer Institute (ACI) in Bathinda, finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal’s constituency, has once again been deprived of grant for upgrade in the proposed annual budget.
Functioning since July 2016, the institute has been awaiting a PET-CT (positron emission tomography and computed tomography) scan machine.
In the budget presented on Monday, Badal allocated ₹3,822 crore for the health and family welfare sector.
Sources say the ACI’s nuclear department has infrastructure in place but needs funds for the machine to treat cancer patients, who need scans during or post-treatment for diagnosis and assessment of malignant cells.
An imaging test is useful in revealing or evaluating cancers, including breast, cervix and thyroid.
Due to the non-availability of PET scan at the ACI, patients have to travel to Guru Gobind Singh Medical College and Hospital (GGSMCH) in Faridkot, the only state institute to have the facility.
The sources say that a couple of private medical institutions in Ludhiana have the testing facility but it costs nearly ₹15,000.
Average daily footfall of 200 at OPD
The ACI is a constituent of Baba Farid University of Health Sciences (BFUHS), Faridkot, and the centre has an average daily footfall of 200 in the outdoor patient department (OPD) from Bathinda and adjoining districts of the state, Haryana and Rajasthan.
The Bathinda institute was established by the former SAD-BJP government as Malwa region of Punjab has numerous cases of cancer patients.
Prior to an exclusive facility in the state, patients had to travel to the nearest cancer hospital in Rajasthan’s Bikaner district.
Much-needed testing facility
ACI medical superintendent Dr Deepak Arora said on Tuesday that it would be beneficial if the centre is equipped with the much-needed testing facility.
“According to the plan, the ACI was to get a PET scan facility in the second phase. We have started with radiotherapy and chemotherapy but the availability of testing will offer comfort to patents forced to travel to far-off places,” said Arora.
An attendant said patients in need of a PET scan have to register first in Faridkot and then wait their turn, which comes after a month due to the rush at the medical college. “Not all patients prefer to wait that long for a test and go to private hospitals in Ludhiana that is expensive,” the attendant added.
