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Site Shift in AIIMS Helipad Plan

The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here will start the first-of-its-kind air ambulance service.

The authorities are in the process to finalise a site to construct the landing pad for the helicopter ambulances.

AIIMS has revised its earlier layout plan and decided to shift the site to construct the helipad to a place near the nursing block. Earlier, the helipad had been planned near the trauma and emergency block. But, the site had to be changed because of the construction of the hospital’s medical oxygen plant in the vicinity.

“Now, a small medical oxygen plant has come up there to supply oxygen in emergency to the trauma and emergency block only. But, a bigger oxygen plant would be set up at the same site, which lies close to the spot, where the helipad had initially been planned. However, the helipad cannot be constructed beside an oxygen plant because of safety reasons. So, we have shifted the site to a place near the nursing block,” said an AIIMS administrator.

AIIMS authorities drew flak from the public for shifting the helipad site and giving priority to the oxygen plant. But, it felt that a bigger oxygen plant was more important to effectively run the hospital. “The hospital is growing, and an oxygen plant is a priority since it will create a centralised facility to supply oxygen to inpatient departments,” he said.

He, however, said the creation of the helipad was also important and that its construction would be taken up alongside other important projects on the campus.

“The Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation bars us from constructing the helipad near the plant,” he said.

AIIMS director Gitanjali Batamanabane said a rest room had also been planned near the trauma block for patients’ attendants. “The proposed helipad area has been shifted behind the nursing college, which is close to existing trauma building,” she said.

With the construction of the helipad, the institute will become the first such government facility in the state to provide the air ambulance service to the needy patients. Besides, the oxygen plant will also be a first-of-its-kind facility in any government-run hospital in the state.

“AIIMS is a blessing for the needy patients of the state. A number of people from Bhubaneswar and its neighbourhood fully depend on this hospital,” said Chintamani Rath, a patient’s attendant.

AIIMS is planning to set up a state-of-the-art burn ward and operationalise high-yield radiotherapy equipment – such as high-energy linear accelerator (HELA), low-energy linear accelerator (LELA) and CT simulator for improved cancer diagnosis. Health experts felt that HELA was capable of diagnosing all sorts of radiotherapy treatments used in all kinds of cancers.

The hospital will also install gamma camera facility. “Gamma camera is an imaging device using which diagnoses diseases of heart, bone, thyroid, kidney, liver, brain, lungs and various other organs of body will be done without any scope of error,” said an expert. – Telegraph India

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