NEW DELHI: All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to restore normal functioning of Outpatient Department (OPD) services in all its centres with respect to new and follow-up patients for priority appointments as well as walk-ins.
In an order issued by the Medical Superintendent, the institute has also decided to restart the functioning of morning and afternoon speciality clinics in the Rajkumari Amrit Kaur (RAK) OPD AIIMS Hospital and OPDs of all centres.
“Accordingly, the chiefs of all centres and heads of all clinical departments are requested to progressively increase the number of OPD registration (New and follow up, with prior appointments/walk-in), commensurating with increased faculty and resident doctors being relieved from Covid-19 designated areas and joining back parent clinical department/unit,” the order stated.
The decision comes with the slowdown in the single-day rise of Covid-19 cases and overall positivity rate in the third wave of the Omicron-fuelled pandemic. The decision to discontinue all routine admissions, procedures and surgeries, was undertaken on January 7, 2022, when Covid-19 cases spiked. In the wake of the rising cases, AIIMS had also cancelled all the winter vacations and leaves of its faculty members.
While planned surgeries had resumed in mid-June last year after the second wave and the OPD clinics were functioning, restrictions had been placed on the number of patients. Those who wanted to come for new consultations or who were already under treatment at the hospital—had to seek prior appointments.
Due to the halt, the trauma patients coming to AIIMS suffered the most when the trauma services were moved to the main AIIMS campus. The space for trauma care was reduced by 70-80 per cent, though the number of patients was more or else the same. Patients had to be accommodated in wards of surgery, orthopedic, neuro-surgery and other such departments, hence, reducing the number of beds for the treatment of other ailments at the main hospital.