By Gyanendra Kumar Keshri

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday approved establishment of a new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga. This will be the second AIIMS in Bihar. One is based at Patna.

The announcement for setting up of a second AIIMS in Bihar was made in 2015-16 union budget by the then Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. However, the location was not mentioned in the budget speech of 2015-16.

The approval for setting up of the new AIIMS at Darbhanga is seen as an attempt by the NDA government to woo voters in Mithilanchal region ahead of the assembly polls. This will be the second big project to be set up at Darbhanga. A new airport has been set up and being made operational just a few days before the model code of conduct comes into force.

The new AIIMS at Darbhanga will be established under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY). The total cost of the new AIIMS will be Rs.1264 crore and is likely to be completed within a period of 48 months.

“Today union cabinet approved setting up of new AIIMS at Darbhanga at a cost of Rs 1264 crore. This will be completed in four years. For this I express my gratitude to the Prime Minister,” Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi said.

Establishment of new AIIMS involves creation of Hospital, Teaching Block for medical & nursing courses, residential complex and allied facilities/services, broadly on the pattern of AIIMS, New Delhi and other six new AIIMS taken up under Phase-I of PMSSY. “The objective is to establish the new AIIMS as Institution of National Importance for providing quality tertiary healthcare, medical education, nursing education and research in the Region,” an official statement released after the cabinet meeting said.

Highlights

• New AIIMS will add 100 undergraduate (MBBS) seats and 60 B.Sc (Nursing) seats.
• New AIIMS will have 15-20 Super Specialty Departments.
• New AIIMS will add 750 hospital beds.
• As per data of current functional AIIMS, it is expected that each new AIIMS will cater to around 2000 OPD patients per day and around 1000 IPD patients per month.
• PG and DM/ M.Ch Super-specialty courses will also be started in due course.

The proposed institution shall have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency / Trauma beds, ICU beds, AYUSH beds, Private beds and Specialty & Super Specialty beds. In addition, there will be a Medical College, AYUSH Block, Auditorium, Night Shelter, Guest House, Hostels and residential facilities.

The establishment of the new AIIMS will create capital assets for which requisite specialized manpower will be created, based on the pattern of the six new AIIMS, for their operations and maintenance. The recurring cost on these Institutions shall be met through Grant-in-Aid to them from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

Setting up of new AIIMS would not only transform health education and training but also address the shortfall of health care professionals in the region. The establishment of new AIIMS will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty health care to the population while also help create a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region that can be available for primary and secondary level institutions / facilities being created under National Health Mission (NHM). Construction of new AIIMS is fully funded by the Central Government. The Operations & Maintenance expenses on new AIIMS are also fully borne by the Central Government.

Employment Generation

Setting up new AIIMS in the state will lead to employment generation for nearly 3,000 persons in various faculty and non-faculty posts. Further, indirect employment generation will take place due to facilities and services like shopping centre, canteens, etc. coming in the vicinity of the new AIIMS.

The construction activity involved for creation of the physical infrastructure for the AIIMS Darbhanga is also expected to generate substantial employment during the construction phase as well.

This will fill the gaps in tertiary health-care infrastructure as well as facilities for quality medical education in the State and adjoining areas. The AIIMS would not only provide the much needed super specialty / tertiary health care at affordable costs, to the poor and needy, it would also make available trained medical manpower for the National Rural Health Mission / other Health Programmes of the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare. This institute will also create trained pool of teaching resources / faculty which can impart quality medical education.