Union Health Secretary says Covid lessons can help in cancer treatment

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], August 23 : Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan said that lessons from India's fight against the pandemic can serve as valuable beacons in our targeted policies for the prevention and treatment of cancer, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare said on Tuesday.
Addressing a national workshop on "Roadmap for Cancer Treatment", the Union Health Secretary said, "Any initiative related to cancer control and management cannot be implemented in silos but needs to be taken up with 'whole of government and whole of society' approach as has been our learning from the management of the pandemic since the issue is crosscutting across various government and non-government management spheres."
He further pointed out that the "Pandemic has taught us that health is not the exclusive responsibility of only the Union Health Ministry but jointly addressed by various ministries at the Centre and through state governments."
He added that health cannot reside only at the tertiary healthcare centres, but has a huge footprint in the primary and secondary levels too.
Tertiary health facilities of ministries such as Labour, Railways, Steel, ONGC, Atomic Energy etc, can be pooled to make a significantly large and sustainable network of healthcare for an exponential impact on healthcare delivery, he noted.
Highlighting the paradigm change that the National Health Mission (NHM) has recently undergone, he noted that not only primary and secondary healthcare services but referrals with linkages to tertiary health services are being provided through a comprehensive end-to-end delivery solution.
As per the ministry, Bhushan identified framing, sharing and adherence to evidence-based common Standards of Protocols for critical care management as another learning for cancer management.
These can guide the restructuring and refinement of the national cancer control programme of Union Health Ministry, he noted.
Capacity building of healthcare providers is required through regular training, retraining and skill enhancement for cancer care, the Ministry said in a statement.
He mentioned that capacity building is also to be ensured with clear communication with all stakeholders and feedback procedures put in place.
"We need to adapt and promote health technology and prevention and treatment of cancer such as telemedicine for improved access to care," he stressed.
Various "Hub and Spoke" models implemented in some states such as Assam, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, and Bihar can be emulated by other states, along with detailed mapping of the facilities with the granular planning of healthcare delivery, he suggested.
Sessions on the following topics were organized in the one-day national workshop organized by Union Health Ministry: Infrastructure and human resources for Cancer Care in India; Affordability of Cancer Care in India; Best Practices with respect to cancer care by states and Review of Ongoing Projects and its related issues.