Assam gets its first AIIMS: PM Modi inaugurates. 150-bedded hospital up and running

Assam got its first AIIMS on Friday, April 14 as Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the premier All India Institute of Medical Sciences in Guwahati. The foundation stone for the institute was laid by the Prime Minister in May 2017. Developed at a cost of Rs 1,120 crore, the hospital will commence functioning with 150 beds and will be fully functional with 750 beds. Patient care services at AIIMS Guwahati commenced with telemedicine in August last year and limited OPD for local residents began in September. It was planned under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojna (PMSSY). 

The Prime Minister also laid the foundation of the Rs 546 crore Assam Advanced Healthcare Innovation Institute (AAHII), a joint initiative of the state government and IIT Guwahati.

Addressing a public gathering in Guwahati, PM Modi greeted everyone on the occasion of Rongali Bihu and said, "On this auspicious occasion, the health infrastructure of North-East and Assam has got new strength. Today, North-East got its first AIIMS and Assam has got three new Medical colleges."

"Today, the northeast has got its first AIIMS, and Assam has got three new medical colleges. In the last nine years, we have worked on infra projects and therefore everyone talks about connectivity-related infrastructure projects," he said. 

Most departments already functioning in AIIMS Guwahati

As per Executive Director Ashok Puranik, most of the clinical departments are functional with the outpatient department handling approximately 150 patients per day. The services include daycare, pharmacy, laboratory facilities, and radiological investigations. The hospital has high-quality patient care services in various specialties and super specialties including cardiology, neurology, burns and plastic surgery, cardiothoracic and vascular surgery, and interventional radiology.

AIIMS Guwahati developed with three objectives

AIIMS Guwahati was developed with three major objectives, state-of-the-art patient care, high-quality medical education, and cutting-edge research. These will not only benefit Assam but also its neighbouring states of Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Manipur.

An official from the institute said, "The institute aims to correct regional imbalances in the availability of affordable and reliable tertiary healthcare services, to augment facilities for quality medical education and providing comprehensive, quality and holistic tertiary care health services to the people of Assam and neighbouring states.”

He added, "It will also provide cancer care, advanced laparoscopy facilities, trauma care, and futuristic interventions like robotic surgery, organ transplantation, regenerative medicine, genetics, and simulation lab."

In the institute there are currently, 199 MBBS students, 78 faculty members, 125 nursing officers, and 12 senior residents, and a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with Maligaon Railway Hospital for clinical exposure and postings for the students of the fourth and fifth semester. 

An agreement is also likely to be inked with IIT-Guwahati with a primary focus on collaboration on artificial intelligence, robotics, low-cost equipment, cloud computing, and digitalisation.

(With agency inputs)