The Hakim Sanaullah Cancer Centre is a Cancer Centre at Sopore, in Indian Administered Kashmir.
Contents
HSCC is a rural cancer centre in the heart of North Kashmir. The Centre is part of the Hakim Sanaullah Specialist Hospital and providing quality cancer care to the neglected rural population in the region. Currently the centre provides Medical Oncology, Surgical Oncology and Diagnostic/Imaging services. The centre remains part of a global effort towards managing cancer in a limited resource setting. Over two-thirds of Kashmiris live in rural areas with access to a health care system marred by deficiencies. An overburdened urban health care setup adds to the misery of these rural millions.
Hakim Sanaullah Specialist Hospital & Cancer Centre is an effort to overcome these deficiencies. The institution is a tertiary health care facility with the first rural cancer centre of Jammu and Kashmir catering to a population of over 1 million. By providing quality health care, accessible and affordable to these millions, the institution aims at changing the landscape of health care services in the region in particular, and the state as a whole.
History
Named after the famous Unani physician of early twentieth century who practiced in the region; this tertiary care facility has been established amidst the rural areas of Northern Kashmir.
It is supervised by a board of directors, constituted by renowned medical practitioners of the region, in collaboration with a national and international advisory board.
After identifying the need for such an institution in the region, the board of directors commissioned phase I of this project in November 2001 as a unit of the Qudsiyya Health Care and Education Trust, Sopore.
Initially the hospital provided much needed primary care facilities to the region, however, it has increased its scope of services and presently provides state of the art surgical care facility, has the only stroke rehabilitation center and a well equipped modern investigation block. A Cancer Centre has already started providing medical oncology services and basic surgical oncology services. Efforts are on to strengthen its surgical oncology base and start radiation oncology soon, for which a proposal has been formulated to be submitted to the Govt of J&K.
Introduction
The Northern region of Kashmir extending up to the far flung areas of district Kupwara is in need of health care facilities to provide quality medical care, including the basic diagnostic and treatment facilities. A population of more than 1.5 million which reside in these areas, within a perimeter of 60 kilometers, do not have access even to a properly equipped secondary care hospital; an intensive care unit is indeed beyond the imagination of these people. Hence, the purpose of this institute is to provide a state of the art health care facility to the population of this region.
The phase I of this hospital was inaugurated on 29 October 2001 in a simple ceremony, where the Director of Health Services, Mr Muzaffar Ahmed, was the Chief Guest. Appreciating the management for this bold step, he commended the board of directors for establishing such an institution in the middle of a rural area, where health care facilities tend to be primitive. At the time, he stressed on the need of providing primary care and much needed preventive health care services in this institution in addition to the planned tertiary health care. It was decided that the board of directors will work for realizing these objectives.
Qudsiyya Health Care and Education Trust
Qudsiyya Health Care and Education Trust was created to establish, support and run health care and educational institutions in the valley to improve health care and provide vocational training. The trust is a non profit organization.
Since its inception over ten years ago, the trust has established the Hakim Sanaullah Specialist Hospital, a multi speciality secondary care institution in the heart of North Kashmir at Sopore. The hospital provides quality health care to the people of the region at a price they can afford and is also active in preventive and health education activities. The Physiotherapy and Stroke Rehabilitation Unit was established by the trust to provide care to the handicapped and physically challenged.
In addition, the Trust has established the first Paramedical Institute in the region with the aim of providing vocational training in health care. The institute, Hakim Sanaullah Institute of Paramedical Sciences and Technology, provides Diploma courses in X Ray Technology, Physiotherapy and Laboratory technology and is registered with the State Medical Faculty of the Govt. of Jammu & Kashmir
In addition the trust also actively supports the preventive/I.E.C. activities carried out by its institutions
Latest news
On June 29, 2009, Dr Shuaib Zaidi a surgical oncologist, assisted by Dr Yusuf Tak, an anaesthetist, implanted a Chemoport Device, which is an embedded device within the layers of the skin, to act as a port for the administration of chemotherapeutic drugs for cancer. Also, on the next day, a limb-salvage surgery was performed, saving the left lower limb of a patient, who had been deemed incurable, and advised amputation of the part. As of August 9, 2009, the patient is doing fine.
Plans are afoot to bring a CT scan to the hospital, and also to establish a telemedicine link with national and international cancer institutions to further cancer care research in Kashmir.
In October 2013, the first dialysis centre in North Kashmir was started in the premises of the Hakim Sanaullah Cancer Centre. Currently, two dialysis machines, installed by Fresenius Kabi, are functional, and plans are in foot to expand the services soon.