aurangabad the state governments first dedicated cancer hospital in marathwada recently got seven posts of lecturers sanctioned but a major chunk of vacant posts of resident doctors 72 and research fellows 24 still remains unaddressed the reason for nontakers for these posts is the meagre salary offered rs 14000 per month as per the government resolution gr of the cancer hospital no mbbs graduate is available on this stipend considering the increasing number of patients visiting the hospital the government medical college and hospital gmch administration has forwarded a proposal to the government to sanction funds for setting up a second cobalt unit to render better services to patients visiting from across the state with the increasing number of patients over 2 lakh the hospital authorities said specialists and additional facilities are required to meet the growing requirement at present around 285 patients are on waiting list with appointment given for radiation therapy after for four months said hospital sources the government cancer hospital aurangabad gcha is the first dedicated government cancer hospital in the state built at a cost of rs 50 crore it was set up with an aim to offer comprehensive cancer care and advanced treatment facilities to the people from marathwada and northern parts of maharashtra the 100bedded hospital has eight operation theatres 10 icu beds and advanced equipment for radiation therapy treatment however almost 50 of the 359 posts sanctioned when the hospital was approved three years back are still lying vacant except radiotherapists pathologists microbiologists and anaesthetists the hospital is struggling to find experts in various fields such as surgical oncology medical oncology preventive oncology and gynaecology moreover almost all posts of resident doctors and research fellows are lying vacant since day 1 no mbbs doctor is willing to work for a salary of rs 14000 per month it becomes difficult to carry out the hospital work such as postoperative care and opd without resident doctors as the burden shifts entirely on to the surgeons and other hospital staff said hospital sources however even in such dire conditions the hospital is making all efforts to render best services to the patients the hospital has registered over 2 lakh cases for investigations till date 11008 for day care centre 21817 opd and conducted 27885 surgeries said the officer on special duty arvind gaikwad he said advance equipment in radiation department such as linear accelerator ct simulator and radiation analyser have been installed every day 40 patients are availing the benefits of the linear accelerator about 7080 patients for day care centre and 100120 outdoor patients are visiting the hospital every day the radiotherapy treatment is booked in advance for more than four months the cancer hospital boasts of advanced equipment such as volumetric modulated arc therapy vmat image guided radio therapy igtr and intensity modulated radio therapy imtr to augment its radiation therapy department the hospital has installed the most sophisticated radiation therapy equipment which can treat tumours and small lesions in the brain