AIIMS-Bibinagar on track for full rollout this year, 87% work complete: Health Minister
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda, on Thursday, said that AIIMS-Bibinagar is poised to become a Centre of Excellence in medical education
Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare J.P. Nadda, on Thursday, said that AIIMS-Bibinagar is poised to become a Centre of Excellence in medical education, patient care and research in South India, with 87% of the construction work already completed and the remaining works likely to be finished by the end of this year. After inspecting the facilities and interacting with faculty members, Mr. Nadda said that institutions of the scale of AIIMS require time to develop. He noted that AIIMS-Bibinagar has been operational for only four years and that considerable effort had gone into retrofitting and upgrading infrastructure originally built in 2008.
Addressing a press conference on Thursday, the Minister drew a comparison with AIIMS-Delhi, which was established in the 1960s but gained wide recognition only in the 1980s. “We are asking for 10 years. There is a significant difference between a State medical college and an All India Institute of Medical Sciences. We have substantially upgraded facilities, and patient footfall continues to rise,” he said. Nadda said the institute was sanctioned at a cost of ₹1,110 crore and currently has 132 faculty members and nine specialties. In-patient services have commenced, emergency care is available, and facilities such as CT scans, MRI services, digital consultations and telemedicine have been introduced.
The outpatient department now handles around 1,800 patients daily. Highlighting the institute’s outreach initiatives, he said nearly 1.56 lakh people have received treatment through telemedicine services. He also praised AIIMS-Bibinagar for establishing the country’s first community radio station, adopting six villages and conducting 547 medical camps that have benefited about 66,148 patients This is now a full-fledged patient-care centre and, at the same time, a full-fledged research institution,” Mr. Nadda said. The Minister also highlighted the Centre’s expansion of healthcare infrastructure since 2014. He said the number of AIIMS institutions had increased from two to 23, of which 18 have been completed, while the remaining are at various stages of construction.
Secondary and primary healthcare services have been strengthened through 1.85 lakh ‘Ayushman Arogya Mandirs’ across the country. The number of medical colleges has also risen from 370 to 820, he said.
The BriefWire