New Delhi: Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY), a Central Sector Scheme, was announced in August 2003 to address imbalances in the availability of tertiary care hospitals and improve medical education in the country.
The scheme received a fresh impetus to fulfil Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s vision of quality medical education in the underserved States, and many new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences are being set up under the Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana. So far setting up of 22 new AIIMS has been approved under the scheme, out of which six AIIMS at Bhopal, Bhubaneswar, Jodhpur, Patna, Raipur and Rishikesh are already fully functional. In another seven AIIMS, OPD facility and MBBS classes have started while in five more institutes only MBBS classes has started.
These regional AIIMS, set up or being set up under PMSSY, have played a very significant role in the management of COVID since the beginning of the pandemic early last year. Their contribution becomes significant when seen in the light of the fact that they serve areas where the health infrastructure was weak.
True to their mandate, they have also admirably responded to the challenge of the second wave by expanding bed capacities for treatment for moderate and severe COVID patients. Starting from the second week of April 2021, more than 1,300 oxygen beds and about 530 ICU beds, dedicated for COVID treatment, have been added in these Institutions and the current availability of oxygen and ICU beds available for people is about 1,900 and 900 respectively. Keeping in view the increased demand, COVID treatment facilities have been started from AIIMS at Raebareli and Gorakhpur during April-May, 2021 which has helped the State of Uttar Pradesh to proactively serve patients of remote districts like Fatehpur, Barabanki, Kaushambi, Pratapgarh, Sultanpur, Ambedkar Nagar, Basti, Sant Kabir Nagar, Maharajganj, Kushinagar, Deoria, Ballia, Mau and Azamgarh.
COURTESY – EDUCATION DIARY