The All India Institute of Medical Sciences Bhopal has decided to increase the number of beds in all departments of the hospital by 10 per cent, a senior AIIMS official has said. This is to ensure no person returns from the premier institution without getting treatment even if they do not have money for it, the official said.The institute will also construct a 150-bed critical care unit on the campus with an investment of Rs 98 crore, he said."

Currently, there are 950 beds in the general ward and 150 beds in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) ward. The number of beds in all the departments of the hospital will be increased by 10 per cent," AIIMS Bhopal's newly appointed executive director Dr Ajai Singh told reporters on Wednesday evening.

He said they have received an approval for the construction of a 150-bed critical care unit in the institute and a Memorandum of Understanding of Rs 98 crore has also been signed for its building construction work.

The institute is also planning to start six new departments in the near future, he said. "At present, 42 departments are functional in the institute and due to non-availability of faculty members in two departments, they could not be started," he said.

To ensure the availability of medicines to patients so that they do not have to rush outside for it, the institute will also purchase the same on rate contract basis soon, he said. At present, two drug portals, namely Amrit Pharmacy and Jan Aushadhi Kendra, are functional in the institute where medicines are made available at 40-60 per cent discount.

Singh also said the treatment of poor patients admitted to the hospital will not be stopped due to lack of money. He also informed that 16 new courses of the Doctorate of Medicine (DM)/Master of Chirurgiae (MCH) courses shall be started from the January 2023 session. To improve the hospital's patient care services and bring more transparency, the number of beds available in all the departments will be displayed on a board, he said.

A system will be developed for providing support services to the patients and their caretakers, he said. A patient grievance redressal centre will also be set up soon on the institute's website, he added. The official said they will make the hospital building/facilities more friendly for differently-abled people and also construct a multi-level parking on the campus with an estimated cost of Rs five crore.

In order to reduce stress level of the institute's students, a wellness clinic will also be started soon for their better mental health. Besides, a mentorship programme will also be started soon for better communication among the institute's students. Under this, a postgraduate student will mentor seven-eight students of undergraduate courses and one faculty member will mentor two PG students for being in touch with all students.

The mentors will try to understand and solve study-related problems of the students through discussions with them, the official said. A 'Department of Happiness' will also be opened in the institute in the near future, he said. Asked about shortage of staff in the institute, an official said as against the sanctioned strength of 317 faculty positions, 228 are currently filled, while against the sanctioned posts of 1,326 nursing officers, 996 are filled and the process is on to fill the other vacancies as soon as possible.

(PTI)