BHUBANESWAR: A dharamshala (homestay) for patients and attendants was opened at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Bhubaneswar on the facility’s 11th foundation day.The dharamshala was a long-pending demand of patients and their attendants who come here from far-off places for treatment and struggle for accommodation. Built at a cost of around Rs 20 crore by Navratna CPSE Nalco under its corporate social responsibility, the 500-bed Dharamshala will be made fully functional in terms of occupancy in phases.
AIIMS executive director Dr Ashutosh Biswas said any patient or his/her attendant requiring accommodation will have to approach the Dharmasala reception or medical superintendent’s office to avail the facility at a subsidised rate. The treating doctors concerned will sign in the request form approving the patients need accommodation, he said. The much needed e-office programme was also launched on the occasion. The premier health facility is witnessing a footfall of over 4,500 patients a day.
Dr Biswas announced the institute will soon start liver transplantation. “We have started renal transplantation. Infrastructure for liver transplantation is being readied. We are also planning bone marrow and heart transplantation in near future,” he said.
Delivering the foundation day lecture, AIIMS, Patna executive director Prof Gopal Krushna Pal stressed deeper scientific insights on the art of breathing. He stressed practicing Pranayam, through which a person can regulate the breathing system for a healthier and long life. Prof Pal lauded the efforts of AIIMS Bhubaneswar in managing 162 bodies of Bahanaga train tragedy victims with dignity and honour. AIIMS president Prof Akshay Kumar Bisoi also spoke.