Kochi: The fledgling Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) is already caught in red tape created by none other than the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) top brass who are supposed to mentor the CCRC and help it become one of the premier cancer treatment centres.
It’s nearly three months since a unique speech and swallow clinic was announced at the CCRC on November 1, but the file in this regard is still held up in the CCRC whose expert opinion has been sought by the additional chief secretary (Health) Rajeev Sadanandan.
The opinion has been sought since the cost for the same is over Rs 5 lakh. The additional chief secretary referred the file to RCC director Dr Paul Sebastian who referred the same to Radiation oncology head Dr Ramdas for his remarks.
The file has been either with Dr Ramdas or Dr Paul Sebastian since November second week and their opinion is yet to reach the additional chief secretary.
While Dr Ramdas did not respond to phone calls on Saturday, Dr Paul Sebastian told this newspaper that he was out of station and will be in a position to react only on Monday.
Informed sources said that the file is now lying with Dr Paul Sebastian for the past three weeks after Dr Ramdas, sitting on the file for nearly one and a half months, registered his remarks and returned the file to Dr Paul.
Sources said that RCC top brass have a step-motherly attitude towards CCRC which is shown in this kind of red-tapism. There is no political pressure also to meet CCRC demands.
It is also being pointed out that when former health secretary Dr Elangovan had asked Dr Paul Sebastian to prepare a project report for CCRC, Dr Paul proposed a 50-bed centre which can be a satellite centre for RCC. A furious Dr Elangovan rejected this report and then it was handed over to Central government owned HSCC.
Finally, during the tenure of this government PPP firm INKEL was brought to the scene. Today it is envisaged as a 373 bed hospital with an outlay of Rs 395 crore.
