BHUBANESWAR: Seven years after its establishment, AIIMS-Bhubaneswar still lacks the required infrastructure to cater to the healthcare needs of people in the state.
The premier healthcare institution will celebrate its seventh foundation day on Monday.
Of the 305 sanctioned posts of faculty members, 120 are lying vacant while absence of required number of resident doctors has crippled health services forcing patients to shell out more money for treatment in private hospitals.
Patients are kept waiting in long queues for surgeries as 25 modular operation theatres (MOT), which were supposed to be completed by end of last year, are yet to be made operational.
This apart, most of the equipment including cautery and suction machines and the state-of-the-art OT tables are yet to arrive.
Most importantly, the testing laboratory, which is supposed to be one of the best in the state, is running by outsourced technicians.
The proposed oxygen plant, the most essential for an institution like AIIMS, is also yet to see the light of the day.
Though it has many sophisticated equipment, most of them are lying unutilised due to lack of trained technicians and professionals.
The regular OTs too lack experienced staff and faculty members are forced to help surgeons during most of the surgeries.
Sources said the Catheterisation Laboratory is not functioning for the last nearly one year due to administrative issues hampering important cardiac procedures like angioplasty and angiography.
“Not only outside patients, AIIMS employees in exigencies are also being referred to private hospitals for both the cardiac procedures. Relatives of indoor patients have to carry them for tests in absence of ward attendants,” the sources said.
Since completion of OTs is running behind schedule, the AIIMS authorities wants to open at least 14 MOTs next month.
AIIMS Director Dr Gitanjali Batmanabane said work on 25 MOTs is almost complete. At least 14 of these will be functional next month followed by another eight within next two months.
The work got delayed due to damage to chiller plant in cyclone Fani, she said.
Stating that recruitment for faculty posts will start in August, she said the Dialysis Unit with 14 machines and three Tesla MRI for the state-of-art imaging will be made functional from Monday.
The apex healthcare institute, which was declared open in 2012, has 40 departments and 12 super specialty departments.