Doctors to be recruited to CCRC on priority basis: Keralam fisheries Minister

Months after its much-touted launch and amid delays in becoming fully operational, the Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) is expected to get a fresh impetus, with 36 doctors to be recruited on a priority basis, Fisheries Minister and Kalamassery MLA V.E. Abdul Gafoor has said.

“The doctors will be recruited on a priority basis in the first phase. We will need other nursing and technical staff, and these posts will also be filled soon. The decision is to immediately appoint staff on contract basis at least, if the vacancies cannot be filled permanently,” he told The Hindu.

Over a hundred sanctioned posts remain vacant, and the centre is being run with minimal staff, according to sources. While the previous government sanctioned the posts back in December, before the inauguration of the institute, the recruitment has not taken place yet.

“The incidence of cancer in Kerala is high, and treatment expenses are skyrocketing. We need a research-focussed approach to address these concerns,” said an oncologist who was earlier associated with the centre.

He added that the purpose of the centre would be defeated if doctors were appointed on contract basis. “We won’t get good oncologists on contract basis. To develop the institute as a centre of excellence, we need the best professionals,” he added.

Another oncologist suggested that the centre needed a strong workforce to run it effectively.

Even as the hospital is yet to become fully operational, outpatient services and other medical facilities, including an operation theatre, have been shifted from the Government Medical College to the centre. CT and MRI scan facilities have already become operational at the institute.

“A recruitment board has been constituted, and soon the required staff will be recruited so that the facility gets fully operational,” the Minister said.