BHUBANESWAR: The All Indian Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Bhubaneswar has decided to provide free extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) treatment to the people below poverty line and ration card holders.
As per the decision taken by the designated ECMO Committee headed by Medical Superintendent Dr Sachidananda Mohanty, the service will be provided in cycles. Each cycle is of two to three weeks of duration.
“All BPL families, ration card holders and low income certificate holders will be provided free ECMO treatment at the premier hospital,” said Dr Mohanty. However, other patients will have to pay as per the fee structure decided by the committee. A patient will have to deposit Rs 5 lakh initially as the charges for each cycle would be Rs 3 lakh (for consumables), ICU charges of Rs 1000 per day and one-time ECMO charge of Rs 50,000.
The charges will be doubled for two cycles and the hospital will inform the attendant of patient prior to the decision for second cycle, if required. With two machines, the ECMO unit at AIIMS was inaugurated by Director Dr Gitanjali Batmanabane on the occasion of the ninth foundation day of the institute on July 15.
The ECMO unit set up by the State government at SCB Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack is awaiting inauguration.
Nine machines have been installed at the Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery department to cater to Covid and non-Covid patients.