Rajkot gets new cancer care facilities, Covid hospital

Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel, who joined the CM in the e-inauguration of the new facility said the new machines will go a long way in meeting the medical needs of the people of Saurashtra.

“These machines would be helpful, especially in the treatment of cervical cancer and breast cancer. Till now, these facilities were available only in Ahmedabad and people from Saurashtra needing tertiary cancer treatment had to travel all the way there. Now, the same is available in Rajkot,” said Patel.

SCCRI functions under the aegis of Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, a joint venture of the state government and the Gujarat Cancer Society.

The CM also inaugurated a 200-bed Covid-19 hospital set up in the SCCRI building and assured that there will be no shortage of beds for Covid treatment.

“There were complaints that due to shortage of private hospitals in Rajkot, the number of available beds are less. I am happy to state that now the number of beds have been increased in government hospitals as well as in private ones. I want to assure people that there would be no shortage of beds for those contracting Covid-19,” said Rupani, who is an MLA from Rajkot.

With the addition of 200 beds, the total number of beds available in hospitals, Covid care centres and dedicated Covid health centres in the district has gone up to 2,160. Of them, 844 are in 22 private hospitals while the rest are in government facilities, said officers of Rajkot district administration.

Jayanti Ravi, principal secretary (health and family welfare) said that radiotherapy will be made available in SCCRI after the calibration of the newly-installed machines and approval from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board. The CM also launched post-Covid physiotherapy rehabilitation centres in government hospitals in Ahmedabad, Vadodara Surat, Dahod and Jamnagar to aid patients’ pulmonary strength.