Is AIIMS prepared to tackle the spread of coronavirus?
We are ready, we have isolated wards in place but a clearer picture will emerge when we have multiple cases to tend to. For now, we have a strategy in place.
What are the biggest health threats India is facing?
Non-communicable diseases are accountable for almost 60 per cent of the burden of diseases. The second threat is emergence of zoonotic diseases (that can be transmitted from animals to people) which occur quickly. We are seeing the spread of coronavirus and have seen outbreaks of Ebola, SARS, H1N1 in the world.
We have to form strategies at a primary and tertiary level to upscale our facilities for such diseases. For now, we have to convert ICUs and wards into facilities to manage a large number of patients, prepare isolation rooms, special care. But we need to have facilities ready. We have people travelling with infections all over the world. There are huge cluster of coronavirus cases occurring in Europe.
New AIIMS have come up across the country and several more are in the pipeline. Has this helped reduce the patient burden for the Delhi institute?
The new institutes have to mature over time and the people need to be confident of the services offered there. I feel over the next five to 10 years, there will be patient redistribution and the burden will possibly come down. For the short term, the plan for dealing with patient load is the master expansion projects.
There was a minimal hike in this year’s budget for AIIMS. Do you see that as a disadvantage?
Yes, the hike in budget allocation was minimal but we have enough to manage for this year. We will be able to convince the government for bigger hike next year. Healthcare needs a boost and the government needs to realise that. The government needs to shift its focus to preventive healthcare in terms of policies.
Clashes between health schemes (PMJAY and RAN) have even resulted in death of patients at AIIMS. How is this issue being dealt with?
That has been resolved. The government has issued clarification and come up with a notification as well. Ayushman Bharat is a game changer in my mind which made a huge impact. I have seen patients who could not afford costly surgeries but were benefitted through the scheme. The challenge is to get private healthcare providers to utilise it. It has the potential to change the healthcare spectrum.
What are AIIMS academic plans for the future?
We need to remember that the students of today will become doctors of tomorrow. So the curriculum, methods of teaching and skills have to change. Since AIIMS doesn’t come under the medical council, we are constantly revamping the syllabus. We want to offer what’s new to the students rather than continuing the same practices for decades.
The EWS quota couldn’t be introduced last year. Why did it fail to get implemented? Is AIIMS prepared for it this year?
By the time the EWS quota came in, we had already made our lists and circulated. It was almost finalised and there was little confusion over how it was calculated. EWS is going to add more 25 per cent more seats in all our courses so we need to have the infrastructure and facilities for faculty to train the additional students. We are doing it under the master plan.
It has been three years since you’ve been the Director of AIIMS. What changes have you introduced in your tenure so far?
AIIMS has grown in three main broad areas — patient care, academic and research. In terms of patient care, we have a high patient load and a huge waiting list.
In a way it is good, more referrals mean we are doing well and we start exceeding capacity. In the last three years, we have tried to expedite previous projects which were going on and started the opening OPD blocks in a phased manner.
We had put forward a proposal of for the master plan and are now in the process of hiring an international agency to help us plan how AIIMS as a university should be to make match international standards. That plan is on and we are hoping that in the next two to three years we will be able to transform AIIMS infrastructure and be world class in terms of technology and facilities.
What are your priorities for the institute’s future?
One priority was the common co-research facility which is about to be started. There is a shortage of space and we have to prioritise our campus in terms of residential accommodation. Our faculty and staff have increased tremendously and housing has not increased.
Students have doubled but not the facilities. We plan for bigger seminar halls for students and high-end tech for faster surgeries. In medicine, we are racing against time. The world of medicine is changing a lot and we need to evolve rapidly.