Government of Telangana, Tata Trusts sign MoU to provide state-wide cancer care

Hyderabad: The Government of Telangana and Tata Trusts today announced a Memorandum of Understanding to deliver high quality affordable cancer care through a three-tier model, and develop academic and research capabilities in the state.

The initiative in Telangana is the latest of Tata Trusts’ effort to partner with state governments and other entities to decentralise cancer care in India. Similar initiatives are in different stages of implementation in Assam, Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh.

The MoU was signed by Ms. A Santhi Kumari, Principal Secretary, Health, Medical & Family Welfare Department, Government of Telangana, and Mr. R. Venkataramanan, Managing Trustee, Tata Trusts, in the presence of the Minister for Information Technology, Telangana, Mr. K. T. Rama Rao, Minister for Health, Medical Education and Family Welfare, Dr. C. Laxma Reddy, and the Chairman of Tata Trusts, Mr. Ratan N. Tata.

As part of the three-tier model, two apex super-speciality hospitals in Hyderabad – the MNJ Institute of Technology and the Nizam Institute of Medical Sciences – will be upgraded to handle complex cases on a referral basis. Medical colleges in Adilabad, Nizamabad, Mahbubnagar and Warangal will be strengthened so that they can offer diagnosis and treatment of cancer cases. District hospitals in Karimnagar, Khammam and Nalgonda will be developed to offer diagnostic and standardised day care chemotherapy. Thereby, a state-wide cancer care network will get created to take treatment closest to patients, through beefing up the existing public health system and infrastructure.

The network will ensure that no patient will have to travel more than a few hours for accessing the full suite of cancer treatment services. The model is centred on the use of technology and task shifting to facilitate operations in remote areas, and patient-centric design principles to provide a good in-hospital experience to the patient and care-giver. The hospitals will also mount an extensive awareness, screening and early detection programme.

The entire public health system will be galvanised to be able to play a part in the cancer care continuum. The proposed infrastructure will therefore be a platform to utilise cancer related schemes of the Union and the State Government, such as National Oral Health, Tobacco Control, Palliative Care and Health Insurance programmes.

Tata Trusts has convened a diverse group of top oncologists globally, leading cancer hospitals attached to the National Cancer Grid, engineers and contractors to be able to deliver on the infrastructure needed to deliver cancer diagnosis and treatment.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman, Tata Trusts, said, "The state is going to register a difference in the health of its people. We will be happy to do anything we can to save lives, either on nutrition, early detection of disease, better quality of care. Cancer does not discriminate between the rich and the poor but the fact is that not everyone has an equal access to care. We hope to address this through population screening and building better infrastructure. I hope the Trusts can do a lot more in the state. I see the state emerging as a state with a difference.”

About Tata Trusts
Since inception in 1892, Tata Trusts, India’s oldest philanthropy, has played a pioneering role in bringing about an enduring difference in the lives of the communities it serves. Guided by the principles and the vision of proactive philanthropy of its Founder, Jamsetji Tata, the Trusts’ purpose is to catalyse development in the areas of healthcare and nutrition, water and sanitation, education, energy, rural upliftment, urban poverty alleviation, and arts, craft and culture. Tata Trusts’ programmes, achieved through direct implementation, partnerships and grant making, are marked by innovations, relevant to the country. For more information, please visit http://tatatrusts.org/

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Contacts:
Nayantara Dutta
Tata Trusts
Email: ndutta@tatatrusts.org
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Adfactors PR
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