Kerala: Cancer and Research Center to commence from Nov 1, after interviews

Kochi: The recruitment exercise for the Cancer and Research Center will take a new turn when interviews for appointment of Director, Nurses and doctors get underway on October 13. The Cancer Research Center OPD is supposed to commence functioning on November 1.

Talking about the ongoing activities at the Research Center, District Collector, K Mohammed Y Safirulla, informed that a detailed Project Report (DPR) had already been presented to the health Minister KK Shylaja on Saturday.

"As per the new DPR the project cost is around Rs 360 crore. The government will approve the DPR after seeking opinion from experts in the field," he said.

Health Minister, Shylaja, on Saturday, also inaugurated a scheme to provide free 'milk and bread' to patients below poverty line at the Kalamassery Medical College.

"Currently the scheme is applicable only to BPL inpatients. But the government will try to extend the benefit of the scheme to other patients by including it in the RSBY scheme," said Shylaja. She said the facilities in existing medical colleges will be improved. "The standard of government medical colleges in the state will be made on par with that of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS). As a first step, the outpatient section in medical colleges will be improved on an experimental basis as part of Ardram' project," she said.

She further added that "Students in many government medical colleges are deprived of opportunities for practical studies. Psychiatry department in Ernakulam Medical College is an example.Many departments in government medical colleges have been facing closure, due to the unavailability of specialist doctors in concerned departments. This situation can be solved if medical students in Kerala come forward to serve in the government sector."

Students in many government medical colleges are deprived of opportunities for practical studies. "Psychiatry Department in Ernakulam Medical College is an example. Many departments in government medical colleges have been facing closure due to the unavailability of specialist doctors in concerned departments. This situation can be solved if medical students in Kerala come forward to serve in the government sector," Shylaja said.

Interviews will be held for the posts of specialists in medical oncology , medical superintendent, surgical oncology , pathology and radiology. Bio-medical engineers and lab technicians are also being looked for by the college authorities. The first phase of the project can be completed in two years after the approval of the DPR, prepared by Hospital Services Consultancy Corporation,' felt the minister.

The house surgeon and PG Doctors’s strike has been called off, after an assurance was given by Minister, that a proper investigation into Shamna Tasneem’s death would be done by the authorities and the suspension decision regarding the two doctors involved in her death circumstance reviewed, said R Satish, a member of the House of Surgeons Association.

Teachers Association submitted a memorandum to the minister requesting speeding up of the integration process and bringing about improvement in the basic infrastructure of the college.Youth Congress activists who reached the college campus holding black flags in a protest march against the minister were removed by police.