Work on 12-bed cancer hospital at NISER Bhubaneswar to start this week

Bhubaneswar: The capital will soon get a nuclear medicine hospital with 12 beds for advanced cancer treatment at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) Bhubaneswar.

Tender for the work was awarded to a Delhi-based company recently, while the construction of its building will start in the coming week.

A team has already visited the site to start the construction, for which Rs 30 crore will be spent.The hospital will be connected with a proposed cyclotron facility at the national institute. Radioisotopes prepared from the cyclotron will be used in the hospital, said Bendangdas Mohanty, senior professor of physical sciences at NISER Bhubaneswar and in charge of this project.The G+3 (ground and three additional floors) structure, being constructed by NISER, will be operated and managed by Tata Memorial Centre, which is one of India’s leading cancer care institutions, he added.It will have 12 hot beds, designed for patients who receive radioactive treatments, along with dormitory-style accommodation for comfort and monitoring.The hospital will have PET-CT scanners, gamma cameras and other modern imaging suites to help doctors accurately diagnose cancer and other diseases, said Mohanty.

Special areas will be set up for preparing radioactive medicines, safely administering doses and providing nuclear medicine therapies to the patients, who will have access to daycare treatment facilities, doctor consultation rooms and spaces for follow-up care.The hospital will also include areas for training, research and teaching, and other support services. The students of the master's degree programme in medical and radiological physics at the institute, can also get training here.The hospital will be directly connected to on-site radioisotope production from the medical cyclotron. This means radioactive materials required for diagnosis and treatment can be produced locally, ensuring timely availability, better quality and lower dependency on outside sources, said official sources.