Delhi State Cancer Institute: Hospital that treats you for free

New Delhi: Demands are demands, but when it comes to save life it becomes a necessity. So with the hospitals. The Delhi State Cancer Institute is trying to meet its prime objective, serve the people. The cancer institute provides free of cost medication. It treats about 600- 700 patients a month.

Quite like a private one this super specialty government hospital located in the eastern periphery of the capital city, caters mostly to middle class and economically Weaker Sections who can’t afford treatment at private hospitals.

The Delhi State Cancer Institute is an autonomous body set up by Delhi government in April 2006 with a tag of free treatment for everyone. This includes tests, medicines, stay and food without considering the patient wealth.

For the affluent the hospital has 29 private bed, for the privileged services. Even in the private ward patients can avail discount upto 40 per cent.

Apparently, the DSCI is a boon to cancer patients of economically weaker sections. The hospital offers only medical and radiotherapy treatment to the patients. “The surgical unit is under construction and gap is filled with the help of other specialized hospitals of NCT", reveals  a senior doctor at DSCI on demand of anonymity.

Meanwhile, with the demand to boost its medical facility, the hospital is planning to increase the number of beds from 95 to 300. The Director of the Institute was however not available for comment.

Cancer cases are multiplying in youth in India. A shocking figure revealed in a recent medical conference states that out of nearly 1 million cancer cases reported in India every year, 150,000 patients were aged between 15 and 35, informed Dr Pawan Gupta, National President, Indian Cancer Winner Association, an NGO. He also said that there is shortage of trained doctors in Delhi. Counting the figure, he said only 12 trained doctor are practicing in Delhi, although the demand is three times higher than the actual number of practitioners.

A comparison of the costs of DSCI with Pvt hospitals in Delhi

A leukemia (blood cancer) patient in the general ward of DSCI for example can get chemotherapy using Imatinib Mesylate free of cost, while patients in private wards have to pay less than Rs. 2,000 for the same facility.

At a private hospital, chemotherapy using the same anti-cancer drug costs Rs. 7,000 per cycle with a minimum of six to eight cycles needed.

Similarly, a chemotherapy cycle of Oxaliplatin to fight gastrointestinal cancer that costs Rs. 15,000 at a private hospital, is free for general ward patients here.

Even expensive drugs such as Herceptin, used to treat breast cancer patients after standard treatments fail, are available at reduced rates to private category patients.

"Once the manufacturer's patent ends this year, generic players can enter the market, making it possible for us to give it for free to poor patients and at one-third the cost to general category patients," a doctor said.

Free treatment is what helped Javed Saifi, 8, who had a brain tumour.

"I was told about this hospital by a man while I was waiting in one of the long queues at Lok Nayak's cancer centre," said Shamshad Saifi, Javed’s father, who is a daily wage labourer and lives on the outskirts of Delhi.

The most basic of tests for tumour markers that cost between Rs. 12,000 and Rs. 15,000 at a private lab is priced at Rs 300 and Rs. 500 for private patients. While all medicines are free for poor patients, people opting for private wards roughly get over a 50% discount on the printed rate.

 Treatment Cost at DSCI

General Beds: 66 bed, treatment, checkup, stay food is aboslutley free.

Semi private room: Rs 2100

Private room: Rs 5100

Deluxe room: Rs 9000

Fifty percent discount on MRP for medicine, upto 50 percent less prices compared to private lab.