Dr Shakti Kumar Gupta
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) is a name synonymous with excellence and quality in healthcare delivery. It has become a global brand and leveraging on the existing AIIMS. Government has stepped ahead to shape up a group of premier public health medical institutions in India which will be forerunner in the field of quality medical education training and providing robust patient care to millions of people. In a series of establishing ‘AIIMS-like’ organizations all over the country, the legacy has now reached at the doorsteps of people in Jammu & Kashmir with establishment of this prestigious institute in Vijaypur town of Samba district- a first of its kind and the first of two proposed for erstwhile state of Jammu & Kashmir including Ladakh region. A big moment of glee was felt around AIIMS, Jammu when first batch of 50 MBBS students were enrolled for session 2020-21who are undergoing teaching at AIIMS Rishikesh the erstwhile mentor institute. The next batch of 125 MBBS students are expected join in the month of October, 2021.
Opening-up of this AIIMS indeed does reflect commitment of the Government to mobilize national resources to augment the existing medical facilities and bridge gaps in the field of healthcare delivery. A long standing demand of people for treatment of serious ailments now seems fulfilled; the locals will no longer need to travel to far flung cities of Chandigarh, Amritsar or New Delhi. The new AIIMS, Jammu will not only establish itself as a centre of higher learning and healthcare services for thousands of native populace, but shall also open up immense academic and occupational opportunities. Prestige of AIIMS-like institutions is derived from their ‘Trinity of Mission’ – Training, Patient Care & Research. Autonomy of planning curriculum, selecting best of the students from entire country and impeccable research infrastructure have earned a reputable pedestal for these institutions at international level. This region is now going to be immensely benefitted from quality patient care as a reward of this repute that the institution carries.
For a long time, Cancer patients or any other serious cardiac or neurologic patients were forced to venture in places like Chandigarh and New Delhi for specialized medical and surgical treatment; many did succumb to diseases for want of affordable treatment. The new 750 bedded AIIMS institution in Jammu excluding dedicated Daycare beds for Chemotherapy , Hematology AND Rheumatology has turned out to be a blessing for such patients as it has dedicated Cancer care units of 16 beds each in departments of Surgical and Medical Oncology. Besides that, it will provide multispecialty care including 106 ICU beds of various specialties, 48 beds each of basic care like General Medicine, Orthopedics and Obstetrics & Gynecology, superspecialty care of Cardiology, CTVS, Neurology and Neurosurgery with 16 beds each, a Nephrology and Urology unit with 08 bedded dialysis unit , a 12 bedded Burn and Plastic Surgery Unit and dedicated AYUSH block to name a few.
Although it is a momentous chapter for the existing healthcare infrastructure; the legacy doesn’t stop here as a similar institute is proposed for Awantipura Kupwara Division of Kashmir. An uphill task for everyone involved lies ahead till such time these are fully operational. It is important to envisage the greater good for common people, the academicians and the new generation of doctors of this region. These humongous infrastructures will certainly open floodgates to knowledge and prospects of vast academic interactions among the healthcare fraternity. Such interactions are central pillars on which the success of modern healthcare depends and it will require spirited people who will act in the right direction with same zeal, hard work and enthusiasm as has been invested by committed men and women over decades to bring AIIMS, New Delhi to its present stature. It is indeed heartening that AIIMS Delhi has been chosen as the mentor institute for this coveted AIIMS. Experienced doctors and faculty who are going to join here in coming time will steer away from conventional methodology to remain well-informed with the latest developments in the field of treatment modalities coupled with technology and explore new avenues in healthcare teaching for proper nurturing and mentoring the transitional generation- the one which has witnessed terrorism and resource scarcity. This will pave the way for a bright future full of confident, competent, reformed and able doctors coming out from this region.
AIIMS Jammu will have a Global Village, international students Counseling & Study Centres and Internationalization of various training programs. The Institute plans to develop academic programs in close synergy with other Institutions like IIT-Jammu, IIM-Jammu, Central University, Jammu University, Indian Institute of Integrated Medicine the erstwhile Regional Research Laboratory and of course our Government Medical College Jammu to name a few. Such a consortium of premium institutions will facilitate a free exchange of ideas and innovations leading to profound academic outcomes. Recent times have unfolded the fact that modalities for delivering future education will be online teaching programs with equitable use of technology. Authorities at AIIMS Jammu have therefore set their eyes on developing Centers for Distance Education and Simulation Laboratory for academic excellence as part of the ‘Digital AIIMS Jammu’ initiative.
It is now evident that development of healthcare is getting a strong support and seems to be getting immense attention from the present Government. Establishment of premiere institutions like AIIMS Jammu is stepping stone towards the path for India to evolve as a superpower in Global Knowledge development towards providing excellence in Medical Education, Research and Patients Care.
(The author is Executive Director and CEO , AIIMS, Jammu)
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