Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Monday inaugurated the cancer specialty block at the Ernakulam General hospital here.

The block, with 105-bed facility, was constructed at a cost of Rs 25 crore and in an area of 45,000 sq ft in six floors.

The new cancer block has an ICU, a chemotherapy unit, separate wards for men and women, dormitory among other facilities.

Addressing the gathering after the inauguration, Vijayan said the facility will boost the development of the health sector in Kochi.

Vijayan said Kerala's public health sector has demonstrated exceptional excellence in effectively managing the Nipah outbreak, resulting in low mortality rate and minimal disease spread.

He said the state managed to mitigate the Nipah outbreak through swift and effective measures implemented by the Health department.

The Chief Minister also mentioned the union government's Arogya Manthan Award 2023, received by the state health department for extending the highest number of free-of-cost treatments under the ‘Karunya Arogya Suraksha Padhathi’ (KASP).

He said Kerala has won the ‘Arogya Manthan’ for the third time in a row and nearly 13 lakh beneficiaries received free-of-cost treatment through KASP.

State Ministers P Rajeeve, M B Rajesh and Veena George among others participated in the event.

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