New Delhi: AIIMS, New Delhi faces demand-supply issue, far more patients need hospitalisation compared to the number of beds available in the hospital, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Friday.
A large number of incoming patients need to wait for at least an year before getting treated at AIIMS, particularly for ailments like cancer, neurology and kidney diseases, Mandaviya added.
He said "AIIMS, New Delhi, which is the oldest functional AIIMS, faces a demand-supply mismatch in terms of far more number of patients needing hospitalisation vis-a-vis the number of beds available."
New projects are being added into the premier institute to minimise the waiting period of critical diseases, some of the projects are Mother and Child block, the National Centre for Ageing, a surgical block and paid private wards have been added to the premier institute.
Various clinical departments prepare waiting lists according to the severity of the patient's condition and urgency of the treatment required. In an emergency or a life-saving situation, all efforts are made to admit a seriously-ill patient in the hospital as far as practically possible. Registrations are done according to the maximum handling capacity of the department concerned and 80 per cent of OPD appointments for new patients are provided online for up to 30 days in advance. The remaining 20 per cent OPD appointments are provided to walk-in patients.
In addition, patients given dates by their doctors are provided appointments through a single-window exit counter and departmental nodal persons.
"In order to reduce the load of patients on AIIMS, New Delhi and to correct regional imbalances in availability of tertiary healthcare services, setting up of 22 new AIIMS in different parts of the country has been approved under PMSSY. Six of the AIIMS at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh are already fully functional.
"The current patient load is being treated satisfactorily and in a timely manner in these new AIIMS," Mandaviya stated in his reply.