86% work done, Bilaspur AIIMS likely to be completed by June

Pratibha Chauhan

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Shimla, March 1

This being an election year, the Himachal Government is keen to ensure the completion of All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bilaspur, early this year. With health facilities, especially super-specialty services, highly inadequate in the state, the completion of AIIMS at Bilaspur will prove to be a boon for the people.

Will have 750 beds, trauma centre

• The institute will have 750 beds, besides a trauma centre and a medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students. A nursing college with 60 seats of B.Sc (Nursing) will also be there.
• Besides having several buildings for housing the various faculties, there will be 15 operation theatres (OT), 20 specialty/super-specialty and an Ayush Department having 30 beds.

Though the outdoor patient department (OPD) services were made operational at AIIMS on December 5 last the institute is likely to be completed by June this year. As much as 86 per cent of the work has already having been completed.

So far a sum of Rs 960.38 crores has been spent on creating top notch health facilities at AIIMS. The estimated cost of the project has been pegged at Rs 1351 crore. It was sanctioned by the Union Cabinet in January 2018 when JP Nadda was the Union Minister for Health before taking over as the BJP national chief.

The ruling BJP is hoping to woo the voters, especially in Bilaspur, Hamirpur, Una, Kangra, Kullu, and Mandi, on having provided the huge health facility in the state provided it is ready before the Assembly elections due by the end of this year.

Directly under the control of the Union Ministry of Health and Family Affairs, the institute will have all super- specialty services like nephrology, gastroenterology, hepatology, pulmonary medicine besides others for which people of the state have to go to Chandigarh and Delhi.

With the presence of private sector hospitals, especially the big chains being almost nil in Himachal, the coming up of AIIMS will be a major relief for people.

Even though the AIIMS is yet to be made fully functional 136 surgeries have already been performed and a total of 11,010 patients examined in the OPD in almost two and a half months till February 18.

A target had been set to complete AIIMS within a period of 48 months. When completed, the institute will have 750 beds, besides a trauma centre and a medical college with an intake of 100 MBBS students. A nursing college with 60 seats of B.Sc (Nursing) will also be there is the AIIMS. Besides having several buildings for housing the various faculties, there will be 15 operation theatres (OT), 20 specialty/super-specialty and an Ayush Department having 30 beds.