Minister of State for Medical Education Madhuri Misal in the Legislative Assembly on Thursday informed that in view of the increasing number of cancer patients, the state government is considering setting up a cancer hospital in Pune.
A request for land has also been made to Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation Limited (MSRDC) for this purpose. Sassoon Hospital has been identified as a suitable location for the new facility, she added.
Misal further stated that 2,350 posts have been approved for Sassoon Sarvoopchar Government Hospital, but 769 of them are still vacant. Additionally, 156 nursing posts are vacant, and 50 percent of the class four posts remain unfilled. Recruitment for these positions is managed by TCS with permission from the District Collector. Misal assured that steps will be taken to implement the recruitment process in the next eight days, with immediate filling of 44 class one and 110 class two posts.
In response to questions raised by Cantonment MLAs Sunil Kamble, Siddharth Shirole, Hemant Rasane, Sharad Sonawane, Bhimrao Tapkir, and Vikram Pachpute during the budget session, Misal highlighted that Sassoon Hospital is the only hospital in western Maharashtra catering to patients from across the state, including Pune and Pimpri-Chinchwad. The hospital sees about 5.5 lakh outpatients annually, with approximately 60 thousand admissions from Pune city. Despite its capacity, the hospital is under immense pressure due to the high number of patients.
Addressing complaints about a shortage of medicines, Misal shared that medicines worth Rs 12.94 crore have been recently purchased, along with new equipment. A request has also been made to the District Planning Committee for further procurement of medicines to meet the increasing demand, she added.
