AIIMS Odisha now a 325 bed hospital

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, Feb 5:

After addition of 21 beds in the neurosurgery department, the number of beds available for patents at the AIIMS Odisha has now increased to 325.

The newly established neurosurgery department, inaugurated by Additional Secretary Arun Panda, has been functional since January 28, said Director of AIIMS Ashok Kumar Mohapatra.

While there are eight beds for male patients and five for females, there are three more for patients who need hospitalization post surgery. Two isolated beds and three beds for additional treatment have also been set up.

While Mohapatra himself is the Head of this Department, there are three Assistant Professors and required number of resident doctors in the department.

“We don’t have any more issues in conducting complex neurosurgery operation here. The poor patients won’t have to depend on expensive private hospitals for treatment anymore. They can get it done at a really low cost from AIIMS-Bhubaneswar,” added Mohapatra.

During his last visit to Odisha, the then Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan had assured that all steps would be taken to complete all unfinished work, open new facilities at AIIMS to make it a 350 bed hospital and dedicate it to the nation on December 25, 2014 the birthday of Vajpayee, who had envisioned the project.

“The remaining work of AIIMS, Bhubaneswar will be taken up with accelerated pace to make it an ultramodern medical institute. Efforts would be made to strengthen the infrastructure at AIIMS, Bhubaneshwar and make it better and more advanced than AIIMS, New Delhi to fulfil the dreams of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee,” the Health minister had said.

However, this promise never materialised. It is not yet a complete hospital yet and the facilities lag way behind the Delhi-AIIMS. Also, delayed appointment of doctors and halted provision of infrastructures as we reported here (http://odishasuntimes.com/102775/aiims-odisha-remains-promise-unrealized/) hampers the study of students here.

The increase in the number of beds and opening of the neurosurgery department comes as a relief in such circumstances.

Professor Mohapatra, however, is optimistic about the future of the hospital and said there is a difference between the speed of government machinery and expectation of people.

“Professors would be appointed soon and other issues would also be sorted out in due course of time. The senior resident doctors of AIIMS are as good as Assistant Professors of other government medical colleges. So, we don’t face much of an issue in treating the patients,” commented the AIIMS Chief.