123 Kolkata: The ongoing project of the state's ambitious Cancer Care Hub (CCH) at IPGMER takes another step forward with the oncopathology lab attached to the hub receiving NABL accreditation. According to sources, the accreditation for histopathology and immunohistochemistry is available only in a handful of labs in the private sector in the state.
Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee had announced in June 2021 the tie-up with Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) Mumbai to set up the CCH. A steering committee with experts from the state health department and TMC Mumbai was formed, and an MoU was signed in Aug that year. The CCH is already functioning but only partly.
"A quality diagnosis centre is a requirement for the CCH, and now that we have the certificate of accreditation from NABL, which is another step towards the CCH. This accreditation comes after successful external quality checking by the national cancer grid of TMC Mumbai for the last two years," said Manimoy Banerjee, director, IPGMER.
A four-member team at the oncopathology department, led by Professor Keya Basu, has been working hard to get this certification. During the past two years, tissue samples were sent by TMC Mumbai to check if the report matches the test results at the Mumbai lab, securing the quality tests.
While CCH has taken off partially from the existing space at SSKM Hospital, the hub will be housed in a G+10 storey building. The construction of the building opposite the SSKM main campus is completed up to the fifth floor.
"Onco surgery under the CCH project has already begun, and the course for MCh in surgical oncology has already received approval. Procurement of equipment like the Linac machine is in progress," added Banerjee.
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