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Journalism of Courage
NEW DELHI, September 24: All India Institute of Medical Sciences AIIMS has completed 42 years of existence but according to its director the premier institute is preoccupied with trivial cases for most of the time.
8220;A hospital with 25 clinical departments including four superspeciality centres is being used like a common dispensary because patients with minor ailments instead of going to clinics near their homes were mindlessly flocking to AIIMS,8221; Prof P.K. Dave said at a press conference on the occasion of the institute8217;s anniversary.
8220;Every hospital has a handling capacity. If we overshoot it, something in the efficiency of the hospital8217;s working is bound to snap,8221; Dave said. On the recent outbreak of dropsy, he admitted that the institute was taken by surprise as the disease was difficult to diagnose. There were only two casualties out of the 1,100 patients registered in the out-patient department for dropsy, he said.
The director said that the nitric acid test to ascertain adulteration was bogus and the institute8217;s pharmacology department was fine-tuning another test. The institute has readied a treatment kit for Hepatitis C patients which would be marketed soon, he announced. Its AIDS diagnosis kit was already in use.
The institute was also doing tremendous work in the area if eye and liver transplants, besides being the leader in joints surgery, Dave said. But in the matter of donation of organs, he said there were no organs to be had despite schemes like donor cards.
Though people sign up donor cards and promise to donate their organs, the actual giving depends on their relatives and the hospital gets nothing in the end, he said. The organ has to be removed within five minutes of the death. Asked about treatment in rural areas, he said doctors would not mind compulsory postings in rural areas if they are provided with the place and equipment required for their work.
8220;Doctors should not be blamed for rural postings not being made compulsory. It is the other way round. There are no facilities to accommodate them in rural areas, Dave said.
