AIIMS Bhubaneswar to set up critical care hospital to treat infectious diseases, Health News, ET HealthWorld

Bhubaneswar: AIIMS Bhubaneswar will come up with a critical care hospital for the treatment of patients with infectious diseases like Covid-19. This hospital will be ready in three years. AIIMS Bhubaneswar executive director Ashutosh Biswas said this here on Wednesday.

The 150-bed specialised hospital will be set up under the PM-Ayushman Bharat Health Infrastructure Mission (PM-ABHIM) at a cost of around Rs 192 crore. This will be very useful for critical care patients, said Biswas while addressing media persons.

During Covid time, due to the lack of a separate facility for the treatment of infectious disease, the hospital was treating both Covid and non-Covid patients at a single hospital with restrictions like dedicating a whole block for Covid treatment by banning entry of other people to enter the block. It was a temporary arrangement, but the government has allocated funds for a permanent facility to treat such patients without disturbing the other patients or their attendants, said a senior official of the national institute.

He said Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya, Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan and Union minister of state for health Bharati Pravin Pawar will lay foundation stone for this hospital on the occasion of 4th annual convocation of AIIMS Bhubaneswar to be held on January 7.

Besides, a state-of-the-art Burn Centre will be dedicated to the public by the Union health minister on Saturday on the sidelines of an annual convocation event. This 36-bed Burn Centre equipped with six ICU and six cabin facilities has been set up by the national thermal power corporation (NTPC) at Rs 19.87 crore.

Former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu had laid the foundation stone of this centre on August 25, 2018. “This facility will be very helpful exclusively for burn patients with hyperbaric oxygen chamber, skin bank, physiotherapy, tele conference seminar room with advanced equipment and instruments for the treatment of burn patients,” said Biswas.

He said they are focussing on evidence-based treatment facilities in the national institute. “This year, we will witness liver transplant, bone marrow transplant and cornea transplant like facilities in AIIMS Bhubaneswar. It will immensely help people,” he added.

He said renal transplant has already been started at this national institute. AIIMS Bhubaneswar has become the second choice of the national eligibility-cum entrance test (NEET) qualified candidates this year after AIIMS New Delhi, he added.

As many as 40 students of the institution will receive gold medals at the annual convocation. Anil Das will be awarded as best outgoing MBBS graduate, while Subhrajyoti Barik has been adjudged as best BSc (Hons) nursing graduate.