Govt evacuates 20 cancer patients to India for specialist treatment

Government has evacuated 20 cancer patients to India for specialist treatment as an interim measure to address the ongoing recapitalization of Cancer Hospital.

The patients, who arrived in Hyderabad on Wednesday, were accompanied by two nurses and four caregivers. They were received at the airport by Health Advisor at the Zambia High Commission in India, Professor Victor Mukonka and would be treated at KIMS Hospitals.

Mukonka said the move was aimed at ensuring that cancer patients were attended to as the Cancer Hospital in Zambia was undergoing recapitalization so that treatment is not disrupted.

“These are patients who have been referred specifically to come and receive radiotherapy in India which we negotiated with KIMS Hospitals to help us as an interim measure,” he stated.

Mukonka said the Cancer Disease Hospital was undergoing recapitalization to bring in modern equipment and in the interim, the government had made necessary measures to ensure the treatment protocol was not disrupted.

“We received the patients and ensured that they are all settled and accommodated. I have been with them the whole day and the assessment has started with the specialist doctors which will be completed on Monday the treatment will commence on Tuesday. They are expected to be with us for about a month, receiving treatment,” Mukonka said.

He stated that the High Commission in India had been working tirelessly to facilitate skills transfer programmes so that once recapitalized, the Cancer Hospital in Zambia would be providing most of the services for which patients are currently being referred to India.

Mukonka noted that the country was in need human of capital and this would be achieved through training health personnel as well as the tools.

“This means having appropriate infrastructure and equipment as well as regular supplies of medicines and drugs needed. All the aspects are being addressed, which is very good for Zambia. It will not be very long before what we have been following here in India will be done locally in Zambia,” he said.

Meanwhile, KIMS Hospitals Cancer Specialist and Head of Department, Pratap Reddy assured the patients of quality service.

Reddy noted that cancer cases had surged across the world but that his hospital was equal to the task and would start the treatment once the assessment of patients and the treatment procedure is explained to them.

“They have preferred to come to our hospital. I am happy that they have the trust in us and we will be taking care of them. There are different treatment procedures on different situations which we will be explaining to them and I assure them that we will give them the best of care from our side,” Reddy said.

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