Choubey: AIIMS-Patna to be fully functional by 2020; seeks land for second institute

Union minister of state for health and family welfare Ashwini Kumar Choubey, on Wednesday, declared that All India Institute of Medical Sciencies (AIIMS), Patna, would be fully functional by 2020.

Talking to newsmen here, Choubey said currently about 12 departments of the institute were operational “ Very soon, we will closely examine the functioning of AIIMS, Patna and see to it that it becomes fully operational by 2020,” he added.

Choubey, who has recently been inducted in the union council of ministers, said his ministry was very keen to develop AIIMS, Patna at the earliest, as it would substantially reduce the number of patients from Bihar seeking treatment in advanced centres outside the state.

“This would also reduce the load of patients on AIIMS, New Delhi,” he said.

On his maiden visit to Patna after taking charge of the health ministry at the centre, as MoS, Choubey said his ministry was also keen to start work on the second AIIMS in Bihar, as announced by the union government earlier.

“ I will request chief minister Nitish Kumar to make available at least 200 acres of land in the state for the proposed institute. As soon as we get the possession of the land, we will start work,” he said.

The minister informed newsmen that till date his ministry has not received any communication from the Bihar government in this regard.

When asked which would be the suitable place for the proposed AIIMS, he said he had no preference in the matter. “It all depends on the state government”, he said.

The minister also announced that the union health ministry would help the state government set up a geriatric ward in the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH), with a projected cost of Rs 2.79 crore.

“Four centres in the country have been selected for opening a designated ward for aged people and PMCH is one of them,” he said.

Choubey said the Bihar health department would soon be asked to prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for the proposed geriatric ward and accordingly work on the project would start.

He said as part of nationwide exercise to eliminate the cases of tuberculosis, modern diagnostic equipments for TB would be installed in every district in the country. “ In Bihar too, we will equip every district with such facilities,” he added.

Choubey had served as health minister in Bihar during the earlier NDA rule (2005-13).