The Centre on Tuesday said 524 Day Care Cancer Centres (DCCCs) and 770 District Non-Communicable Disease (NCD) Clinics have been set up across the country under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD), as part of efforts to improve access to cancer diagnosis and treatment.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare Prataprao Jadhav said healthcare is a State subject, but the Centre provides technical and financial support to States and Union Territories under the National Health Mission (NHM) to strengthen cancer care infrastructure, screening, diagnosis, referral and treatment.
According to the government, 6,410 NCD clinics at Community Health Centres have also been established under the programme.
The government said eligible families under Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) receive health cover of ₹5 lakh per family annually for secondary and tertiary hospitalisation. The scheme provides cashless treatment for 1,961 procedures across 27 medical specialties, including medical, surgical and radiation oncology, through empanelled public and private hospitals.
To reduce delays in diagnosis and treatment, the Centre said population-based screening for oral, breast and cervical cancers is being carried out for people aged 30 years and above through Ayushman Arogya Mandirs, with trained ASHA and ANM workers facilitating early detection and timely referrals.
The government added that Day Care Cancer Centres are being established in district hospitals under a hub-and-spoke model to decentralise cancer care and improve access to chemotherapy and other day-care oncology services.
Jadhav said that under the Strengthening of Tertiary Care Cancer Facilities Scheme, the Centre has approved 19 State Cancer Institutes and 20 Tertiary Care Cancer Centres across the country.
He added that the Tata Memorial Centre has established six hospitals in Varanasi, Visakhapatnam, New Chandigarh, Guwahati, Sangrur and Muzaffarpur, while cancer treatment services, including diagnostic, medical and surgical facilities, have been extended to all 22 new AIIMS.
The minister also said advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment facilities are available at the National Cancer Institute, Jhajjar, and the second campus of the Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata.
