Faculty upset as hard-up AIIMS goes commercial

But the faculty is threatening to sue P. Venugopal, the chief of the cardiology unit of AIIMS, for 8220;arbitrarily and illegally8221; revising charges at the CN Centre. They also say that the fees charged in 1995 did not have the sanction of the finance committee of AIIMS, just as the new revised charges do not have the consent of either the panel or even AIIMS Director P.K. Dave.

Professor P.N. Srivastava, member of the governing body of AIIMS, said the body had not been consulted on the issue. 8220;They should discuss such matters before they implement them,8221; he said.

And Venugopal says that he has all the papers to prove that he had acted in consultation with the Director and authorities concerned. 8220;The criticism is based on mistaken notions,8221; he said. 8220;Besides they just want to spoil the image of the centre,8221; he said.

The new charges will be under the heads of service charges, maintenance charges, consumables, ICU, OPD and general ward.

Service charges will range from Rs 9,000 to Rs 24,000, a day in the ICU will cost a patient Rs 1,000. The patients are already being asked to buy material needed for operations. They will now have to pay on every count just as in a nursing home.

Faculty members say that director Dave alone has powers to make such decisions but he chose to accept Venugopal8217;s proposals. They said that Dave had told them initially that he was not aware of the revision of charges in April, but had later said that the Planning Commission had asked for rationalisation of charges. Hence, the entire institute would be charging fees as soon as possible.

They accuse Dave of being hand in glove with Venugopal in turning AIIMS into a profit venture for doctors.

8220;The doctors here are already the highest paid in the country, after the Bakshi Committee payscales were implemented. Now why do they want to charge the patients more?8221; ask some doctors.

The CN Centre has so far earned Rs 17 crore from the fees it has been charging over the past four years. The very fact that they could make a surplus of Rs 4 crore each year shows that poor patients have been unfairly charged, say faculty members.

According to a top official in the administration, the CN Centre had recommended to the AIIMS standing finance committee in 1996 that the money could be used in three ways one-third was to be disbursed among doctors and staff as incentive, one-third used to maintain equipment and the rest as a fund to subsidise treatment for the poor. But this could not materialise as the committee turned down the proposal.

8220;We have no right to receive money from both the government and the patients. If we fall short of money we must ask the government for extra, rather than taking from the patient, says Faculty Association secretary S. Bal.

8220;Besides what service are we offering to patients other than unclean surroundings, long waiting lists and how can we charge extra?8221; says Bal. The government should shut down super-specialty units if it cannot run them. Or how would we be different from Apollo or Escorts? says Bal.