An important announcement in the Budget of the Union that was presented on Saturday was the establishment of 200 daycare centers in district hospitals in 2025-26. Although these would serve to decentralize cancer care, experts expressed their concern about the absence of sufficiently trained medicines to lead them in the midst of a growing incidence of the cancers.
In the next three years, the government wants to add cancer daycare center to all district hospitals. There are currently 759 district hospitals in the country.
“Cancer is not convenience disease … We call it a precision medicine,” says Dr. BS Ajaikumar, founder and executive chairman of health care for cancer cancer chains. , he said, “How will they run these centers … Do we have the competent talent to run them?”
At the same time, the growing incidental cancer in the country makes it important to make medicines and care for cancer more accessible and more affordable.
These centers are aimed at reaching patients past Tier-I Steden and reduce the care burden for the small number of hospitals that affordable cancer care offers. But they need skilled staff – doctors, nurses and technicians – to run them.
In addition, the total ecosystem, from detection to offering different forms of treatment, must be strengthened.
A growing burden
“Cancer is a growing health problem and the way we are positioned with regard to population state, in the coming years the problem of cancer care will increase the manker care” Robotic Services at HCG Manavata Cancer Center in Nashik, Maharashtra.
According to a study published in the Indian Journal of Medical Research, there were an estimated 1.46 million cases of cancer in India in 2022 – an incidence of more than 100.00 people. One in nine Indians will probably develop cancer during their lives. The study projected the incidence of cancer cases that increased by around 12.8% in 2025 compared to 2020.
In recent decades, however, cancer care have been centralized to subways or developed cities, Nagarkar said. “In fact, most states in India still miss facilities for good cancer care.”
There is a huge burden for the selected public hospitals in subways that offer cancer care to low income groups – and the long waiting times, as well as distances, are important deterrent for patients and families, healthcare providers reported.
In such a scenario, childcare centers in district hospitals are a step in the right direction.
Gap
“Cancer care is not like cardiaal or trauma … It is a multidisciplinary team where you should be led by a team of consultants, including surgeons, chemotherapists, radiation independent,” Nagarkar said.
The way these centers are expected is in a hub-and-spoke model. Some premiere institutes in different states will still serve as the primary care spaces, where diagnosis and primary treatment are given. This daycare center acts as secondary spaces focus on chemotherapy, small procedures and follow-up care.
Each center requires a multidisciplinary team, including oncologists, medical officers, oncological nurses, laboratory technicians, counselors and social workers, in addition to administrative and support staff.
“However, India currently only has about 2,500 oncologists – only half of what is needed in view of the disease burden,” said Satyam Shivam Sundaram, partner, strategy and transactions, GOVT Advisory Services at EY India.
“.over, the distribution of oncologists is very skewed, with limited presence in cities of Tier-II and Tier-III,” he added.
Another 2,000-2.500 oncological nurses and technicians would need ABE. For Upskilling, specialized oncological training programs that last 6-12 months would be needed.
While Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman announced the establishment of 75,000 new medical seats in the next five years, no mention was made of specific skills for cancer treatment.
Ai, tech to get in
“In this context, teleconsultation and AI-driven diagnostic support will play a crucial role in guaranteeing the expertise of Oncologists reaches these centers,” said Sundaram.
The impact will be considerably strengthened if the screening infrastructure is strengthened and well -structured care paths are implemented, he added.
“We all understand that due to the lack of staff in this daycare, we cannot do all the things that are needed for cancer,” said Geetha Manjunath, founder Niramai, a startup that uses AI-based technology for early detection of breast cancer. The first to be needed, she said, is a “good screening program on ground level to make public health and early detection of cancer possible”.
Scaling up detection programs, as well as the consciousness of these centers, in addition to making them accessible for regular chemotherapy, the people in undertaked regions and those from lower income groups would significantly influence Manjunath.
In addition, these centers must be equipped to meet different types of cancer treatments. “It is not a one-size-fits-all approach … Cancer care is now more personalized,” said Nagarkar.
Cancer drugs cheaper, but not for everyone
Another important announcement in this year's budget was that 36 life -saving drugs for cancer and rare chronic diseases will be completely exempt from the basic facilities. In addition, six life -saving cancer and rare disease drugs will be subject to a reduced obligation of 5% if they are provided for free to eligible patients.
Although these exemptions were a welcome move, experts believe that they are not enough. “These 36 drugs are used for a very small percentage of the population of the cancer patient,” said Nagarkar.
“To really benefit patients on a large scale, GST's exemption on such medicines is crucial. I am disappointed that this aspect was overlooked and only imported drugs are exempt from customs, “said Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, chairman, Biocon.
“The GST exemption for native medicines for both cancer and chronic diseases developed is essential to reduce the cost burden for patients … Given that in India 80% of healthcare costs are out of their own pocket,” she added.
