New AIIMS master plan: 3,000 more beds, 50 OTs in 7 years

A new master plan for redeveloping the premiere All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) will add 3,000 beds to the hospital, including 300 for emergency services, AIIMS director Dr Randeep Guleria said on Saturday. The hospital will also add 50 new operation theatres and a dedicated infectious diseases ward over the next seven years, he said.

The hospital already has over 2,000 beds for the treatment of patients.

Dr Guleria was speaking during the celebration of the 66th foundation day of the institute. Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya had also been invited to the campus for the celebration.

The master plan details the creation of over 4,000 hostel units to replace the currently ageing buildings, as well as a smart library for students. Dr Guleria said the research needs of the institute will also be kept in mind while implementing the comprehensive redevelopment plan. The plan, he said, will dedicate 1.5 lakh sqm of built-up area for state-of-the-art research laboratories, animal facilities, and a clinical trial facility. The plan will also focus on creating “future-ready” IT support, said Dr Guleria.

Union health minister Mansukh Mandaviya also inaugurated an automated laboratory during the occasion. The laboratory, which will process 50,000 samples a day, will ensure the availability of the most crucial tests needed for emergency and instant decision-making round the clock. It will conduct several sophisticated tests and have a rapid turnaround time of just 2-3 hours, according to the director.

“AIIMS, New Delhi, is a lighthouse for the 22 new AIIMS spread across India. The students and teachers from here can help these institutes through their rich experience to replicate the success of this AIIMS throughout India,” Mandaviya said at the event.

“Whenever I go to a hospital, I feel very sad to see bouncers [security personnel] where sick people come for treatment, and not to quarrel. But if they are quarrelling, then they must be angry, and this anger must be due to some lack of effort from our end. When a doctor sees the patient as a god, long queues of patients don’t bother them. In fact it this is why patients’ treatment becomes a priority,” he said.

A ₹9,053 crore makeover of the institute was announced in 2019 to increase the number of beds in the hospitals to over 5,000 by 2024. The redevelopment plan was also to include ways to integrate the fragmented campus spread across five land parcels.

The hospital, before the pandemic, received about 15,000 patients in its outpatient department every day. During the pandemic, the institute saw nearly 800,000 people in the OPD and 150,000 patients in the emergency department, said Dr Guleria. About 80,000 patients were admitted to the hospital, and 50,000 underwent surgeries, he added.

Dr Guleria emphasised the importance of digital health and medical education. He said, “We cannot sit on our laurels; healthcare is changing rapidly. Major advances in science and technology have changed the health delivery landscape – from AI, robotics, big data analysis, tele-health, to simulation-based learning--all aspects of health are changing. To be relevant and to train the doctors of the future, we must move faster than before and embrace change. The last 18 months have taught us the immense importance of digital health and online medical education.”