Question : Terminal Diseases

Will the Minister of HEALTH AND FAMILY WELFARE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the number of patients suffering from terminal diseases like cancer has increased during the last few years;

(b) if so, the reasons therefor and necessary measures taken by the Government to check the said trend;

(c) whether the Government is taking any steps to increase the number of hospitals or to increase the number of beds in the existing hospitals and if so, the details thereof; and

(d) whether the Government proposes to bring down the excessive expense of the treatment of serious diseases like cancer or to reduce the prices of medicines and if so, the details thereof?

ANSWER
THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF HEALTH AND
FAMILY WELFARE
(SHRI FAGGAN SINGH KULASTE)
(a): Terminal diseases include a wide range of different illnesses. Based on the data provided by National Cancer Registry Programme of Indian Council of Medical Research, the estimated number of cancer patients has increased during the last few years.

(b) to (d): Cancer is a multifactorial disease, the risk factors of which, inter-alia, include ageing population, unhealthy life styles, use of tabacco products, unhealthy diet and air pollution.

The treatment of Cancer in many of State and Centre Government institutions is free for BPL patients and subsidized for others. The Central Government supplements the efforts of the State Governments to prevent and control cancer. Some of the steps taken by Central Government are as follows:

I. Implementation of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) upto district hospital level. Further, the guidelines for population level screening of common cancer viz. Cervix, Breast and Oral have been released to the State Governments for implementation.



II. To enhance the facilities for tertiary care of cancer, the Central Government is implementing a Tertiary Care for Cancer Scheme to support the setting up of State Cancer Institutes (SCI) and Tertiary Care Cancer Centres (TCCC) in different parts of the country.

III. Supporting Cancer care under new AIIMS and State Government Medical Colleges being upgraded under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY).

IV. Setting up of 2nd campus of Chittaranjan National Cancer Institute, Kolkata and National Cancer Institute (NCI), Jhajjar as part of second campus of AIIMS, New Delhi has been approved.

V. The Government is providing financial assistance to patients living below poverty line for life threatening diseases under the schemes such as Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN), Health Minister’s Cancer Patient Fund (HMCPF), State Illness Assistance Fund (SIAF) and Health Minister’s Discretionary Grant (HMDG).

VI. Affordable Medicines and Reliable Implants for Treatment (AMRIT) outlets have been opened at 35 Institutions/Hospitals with an objective to make available Cancer and Cardiovascular Diseases drugs and implants at discounted prices to the patients. Jan Aushadhi stores are set up by Department of Pharmaceuticals to provide generic drugs at affordable prices.

VII. The list of medicines specified in the National List of Essential Medicines (NLEM) which are included in the First Schedule of Drug Pricing Control Order (DPCO), 2013 also contain drugs used for the treatment of Cancer for which ceiling prices have been fixed.