AIIMS neurosurgery dept has 6-month-long wait list

Despite several attempts by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) to reduce the long queues by starting online registration and introducing AIIMS video clinic in 2016, wherein patients can seek opinions online, patients still have to wait for long to get neurosurgery or cancer treatment.

In a recent incident, a 42-year-old critical brain tumour patient was given an April, 2018, date for surgery, forcing him to move to a private hospital for treatment. Mohammad Halim, a resident of Poornia district in Bihar, was referred to AIIMS, Patna, and then to Delhi. But while shifting to Delhi, his condition worsened and his brain got so affected that he could neither eat nor speak.

Doctors, however, said they did not have any other option but to refer him to Delhi.

On Sunday, after getting a date for his surgery six-months later, Halim approached Ashok Aggarwal, a social activist, who helped him in securing a bed in a private hospital under the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) category.

While Halim will get his surgery done at a private hospital now, AIIMS online Out-Patient Department registration gives a clear picture, where AIIMS Rheumatology OPD cannot attend to new patients until February, 2018, and Pediatrics Cardiology is completely booked till January, 2018.