10 forward leaps in the fight against cancer

Assam has long been in dire need of hospital provision with modern facilities fit for treating cancer – a rising threat in a state that’s counted among the poorest in India. Recognising the challenge, the state government, along with the philanthropic organisation Tata Trusts, set an ambitious target of building 10 hospitals. Now completed, the centres for cancer treatment provide enough capacity to treat 15,000 patients per year. The facilities – centres of excellence with the latest equipment – are transforming access to and the quality of treatment in the state. The onus was on us to maximise the benefits to the local population by not only finding the optimum locations, but also by standardising designs to make them replicable and cost effective. By providing a template for future projects, from procurement to modern building methods, we were able to cut the contractor’s costs by 20%. And by designing isolated base foundations to protect against the region’s high seismic activity, we cut the amount of reinforcement needed by up to 20%. A legacy has been left by providing local workers with technical and health and safety training – something that is already being picked up by local contractors. Meanwhile, work has begun on seven more centres, also designed by us, which is refining the processes even further.