Institute to do away with free services. Rates of procedures likely to rise astronomically

Ready to swallow the bitter bill at AIIMS?

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Ready to swallow the bitter bill at AIIMS?

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Institute to do away with free services. Rates of procedures likely to rise astronomically

The best things in life are free, right? Well, strike All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) off that list. One of the premier healthcare centres in the country that provides world-class medical aid at affordable rates is going to ask you to loosen your purse strings. There will no longer be any free services and get set to pay more for the ones that were already chargeable. In fact, costs of some treatments are set to be hiked by about ten times.u00a0u00a0

Price rise: The institute has issued a letter (a copy of which is exclusively
with MiD DAY) to all departments, asking for a detailed rate list of
equipment and treatment procedures. Pic/Mid Day

All this has come out in a letter issued by AIIMS authorities to all departments. A copy of the document is exclusively with MiD DAY. The institute has asked various quarters to provide detailed rate lists of equipment and treatment procedures, both market and hospital rates.

On the money
"We have received a letter from the financial advisor to give all details about equipment and procedures. We have to give them information on the charges as soon as possible," said a senior doctor on the condition of anonymity.

Many services in the hospital are offered free of cost, except a few radiological tests and few highly specialised procedures. Paid tests include colour x-ray, ultrasound and CT scan. Also, several surgical procedures cost virtually nothing. Patients only need to pay when any equipment or medicine is brought from the outside.
According to sources, the institute has been trying to impose user charges for the past several years. But all attempts have failed.

Zero-sum game
"They tried to impose user charges in 2005 as well. But, they had to retract their decision within eight months. In fact, the rates were reduced to zero in 2006," added the doctor. There's also the issue of price escalation.
"If you have been paying Rs 200 for an operation, then after imposition of these user charges, you may have to pay Rs 2,000 for it," added the doctor.

Fight to the finish
Some of the organisations such as AIIMS Front for Social Consciousness (AFFSC) and Progressive Medicos and Scientist Forum (PMSF) have been fighting against the institute commercialising healthcare.
"In the name of rationalising charges, the attempt of the government is to turn healthcare into just another business. We stopped them from imposing user charges in 2005 and we will again do it," said a members of PMSF.

When MiD DAY contacted the director of the institute, at first he refused to come over to the hone and later declined from commenting on the issue. "I will not like to talk about it," said Dr R C Deka, Director, AIIMS.

1956
The year AIIMS was established in
Rs 450 Crore
Approx amount the institute receives as endowment every year

Many 'firsts' for aims

* AIIMS is the first Indian center to perform a successful cardiac transplant. The surgery was performed by Dr. P. Venugopal, the ex director of AIIMS in 1994
* AIIMS is a leader in Stem Cell therapy, especially Cardiac and Neurological
* AIIMS has India's first and only minimally invasive surgery training centre, under collaboration with Germany
* It is a pioneer of robotic surgeries in India, particularly the Da Vinci system for urology, and robotic CTVS

Coming soon to uttarakhand

The Uttarakhand centre of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is likely to become functional from December 2011.
The AIIMS which is being built at Rishikesh would provide the much needed specialised care to the patients for which they earlier used to go outside the state. The 960 bed project would involve an outlay of Rs 826 crore.
The government has said that the OPD services would be started at the AIIMS in December 2011. The Institute would also run a medical college later on.
In the beginning of 2009, the government of India had initiated the process for the setting up these medical institutes on the pattern of the AIIMS in New Delhi in Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Orissa, Rajasthan, Bihar and Chhattisgarh.
The Union Health Ministry has stipulated that all the AIIMS have to be ready and functioning before 2012. After the initial hiccups regarding the land issues, the construction of AIIMS was set in motion by the government and still lot of construction work remains to be carried out.

Sore spot

MiD DAY had reported yesterday about 164 ad hoc appointments made by former director of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) Dr P Venugopal in his tenure that are once again raising eyebrows.
Sixteen members of parliament have written a complaint to Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad; one has also approached Law Minister M Veerappa Moily regarding the issue.
The institute is on the verge of recruiting those 164 assistant professors as associate professors. As per some AIIMS doctors, all the appointments are illegal.
"All of them have reached to this level by violating laws. The institute itself is violating the rules by recruiting these doctors," said a senior doctor on the condition of anonymity.
The appointments were made in 2003 when Venugopal was the dean of the institute. Then Union Health Minister Anbumani Ramadoss and Venugopal were locked in battle since the anti-reservation agitation in 2006 at the Institute, which reportedly had the director's backing.
The letter to the health minister, a copy of which is with MiD DAY, clearly mentions the flaws in the administration of the institute while making the appointments. It also mentions how the institute has been violating the rules for these appointees.