VISAKHAPATNAM : Health department principal secretary Poonam Malakondaiah on Friday said that the government had decided to upgrade Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences (VIMS) as an autonomous institution.
“The VIMS will never be privatised and the government has no such plans,” she said while chairing the first VIMS governing body meeting here on Friday. The meeting discussed various issues pertaining to the development of the VIMS. Poonam said the VIMS would be strengthened further and all the medical services would be expanded. “The plans are in various stages of consideration. Governing body meetings will be held every quarter to discuss and review the activities,” she said.
The trauma and casualty services would be started from January in the VIMS. The out-patient services of the super specialty branches would start functioning from next month, she said.
The meeting also decided to set up a blood bank and start ambulance services very shortly in the VIMS, apart from outsourcing services of the paramedical staff and nurses, Poonam said.
The members of the governing body-collector Pravin Kumar, medical education director N Subba Rao, NTR Health University vice-chancellor T Raviraju, medical and health department advisor Jitendra Sarma, NTR Vaidya Seva Trust CEO A Ravisankar and VIMS director CV Rao- were present.