Patients skip Hyderabad hospitals, head to AIIMS Bibinagar

Hyderabad: Amid allegations of mismanagement, the daily footfall of patients at the AIIMS Bibinagar campus is on a steady rise. From just about 100 out-patients per day in 2019, when the facility was inaugurated, the count has now touched 1,200 with doctors expecting the number to cross 1,500 soon.

When TOI visited the facility on Monday, it found dozens of patients from surrounding villages who said they no longer travel all the way to Osmania General Hospital or Gandhi Hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.

"I made multiple rounds of various hospitals before someone from my village suggested I come here," said 35-year-old Prahalad from Yadgirigutta, who was there for a breathing problem. "All other doctors before this said it was because of gastroenteritis and gave me medication to treat it. When nothing helped and I came to AIIMS, it turned out that my lungs itself had an issue. Over the last 11 days, Prahalad said that his condition has improved significantly. "Also, I have had to spend only Rs 300 for the ICU," he added.

Parkala resident Tangella Lavanya also found relief for her stomach ache at AIIMS after other doctors could not cure her. "Now, we do not need to go to OGH or Gandhi anymore. Even the wards her are nice and clean," said the patient spotted in the general surgery ward. Chinna Chinraiya, 62, from Alair had a similar observation. "After my first visit here five months ago, I have stopped going to Hyderabad for treatment," he said.

Like them, there were many others from areas located with 40-50 km radius of AIIMS - including Bhongir, Uppal, Alair, Yadadri and Parkala - who said that the facility has brought them much respite. Most added that they heard about it through word of mouth.

"We have treated 2.7 lakh patients and completed 10,411 surgeries till last month, including some rare surgeries," said Dr Vikas Bhatia, executive director of the Institute denying allegations of management issues. He dismissed health minister T Harish Rao's remarks about the Centre failing to develop AIIMS, Bibinagar as promised.