Equitas Launches Cancer Hospital toProvide Affordable Cancer Care

Chennai, November 2023

Sringeri Sharada Equitas Hospital Multispecialty& Cancer Care was inaugurated by Thiru. Ma.Subramaniam, Hon’ble Minister for Health and Family Welfare, Govt. of TN in the presence of Thiru. S.R. Raja, MLA, Tambaram Constituency. The dedicated cancer hospital in Gowrivakkam,Chennai reflects Equitas SFB’s Beyond Bankinginitiatives to serve the underprivileged sector. The 100-bedded hospital will provide advanced cancertreatment at the most affordable rates to economicallychallenged segments.

Sringeri Sharada Equitas Hospital, focussed on Cancer cum Multispecialty, is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and technologies to providecomprehensive cancer care, including surgicaloncology, medical oncology, radiation oncology,immunotherapy, paediatric oncology targeted therapy,physiotherapy and cancer rehabilitation, medical and surgical gastroenterology, critical care, cancer painmanagement, wellness and lymphedema clinic. Alltreatments at the facility will be led by a team of highlyexperienced and qualified oncologists, radiologists,surgeons, and other medical professionals who are committed to offer the best possible care to all patients, irrespective of their stature in the society.

“Cancer is a disease that can have a big impact onfamilies, both emotionally and financially. Through our Primary Health Camps we had observed lack of high quality affordable cancer care” said P.N. Vasudevan, CEO and MD, Equitas Small Finance Bank and Managing Trustee Equitas HealthcareFoundation. “This hospital is a step towards bridging this gap and providing life-saving treatmentparticularly to patients from underprivilegedsegments.

Dr. Vaithiswaran Velayoudam, Medical Director ofthe Hospital said, “Access to treatment for a life-threatening disease like Cancer has been expensive in India. It shows compassion of Equitas andSringeri Sharada Mutt as they decide to join hands and make Cancer care more accessible andaffordable, especially for the underprivileged segment of the society. I am elated to be a part of this journey and create a positive impact for those inneed.”

In the words of Mr. Arcot Sravanakumar, PresidentCSR initiatives of the Bank and Program DirectorHealthcare Initiatives, “This has been a humongous and very sacred project for us. After 7 years of persistent work by our team and great support from all the noble souls, we built this Hospital at Gowrivakkam, Chennai, in collaborationwith Sringeri Sharada Mutt through our bank’s 5%contribution and donations from few noble souls. Hefurther continues “Through this hospital, we canprovide the best rates that would help all the patients and particularly EWS patients. This will bepossible because, it is a capex-free model (the land, building and equipment have been donated) due to which only the operational expenses of the hospital would be factored in the pricing. This will give more comfort on pricing as it would be as affordable as possible, probably around 30 to 50% of the marketprice. We are happy to share the news that one of theworld’s best radiation machines (Linear Acceleratorand brachy) is being ordered and expected to be operational from mid-2024”.

The hospital is a joint initiative of Equitas HealthcareFoundation, a part of Equitas SFB’s CSR programand Sringeri Sharada Mutt. Apart from Oncology treatment, the hospital has a 24-hour modernlaboratory, Imaging and cancer screening facility and pharmacy along with three ultra-modern operationtheatres and ICU. It also has a lifestyle disorder anddiabetes clinic where regular wellness and healthcheck-ups can be conducted.

For more details of the hospital, visit:https://www.equitashospital.org/