AIIMS Delhi staff to get ‘preferential treatment’
1 min read 26 May 2023, 11:45 PM ISTThe facility is currently provided to only cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and senior politicians
PremiumNew Delhi: The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) plans to offer “preferential treatment" to its employees, including their dependents and relatives, extending the facility currently provided to only cabinet ministers, senior bureaucrats and senior politicians.
A recent circular issued by AIIMS medical superintendent Dr Sanjeev Lalwani directed all faculties and resident doctors to accord due priority to relatives or family members of the hospital’s workers.
“The AIIMS employees including faculty, residents, students, officers, nurses, technical, administrative and group C staff, retired employees have been raising a genuine issue or concern in various forums/representations that occasionally, the Employees Health Scheme (EHS) beneficiary patients including the employees and their dependent beneficiaries are not given any preferential treatment in the OPD’s, speciality clinics, diagnostic investigations and have to wait for long periods before being attended to. It has also been seen that some of us want preferential consultation/treatment for ourselves and our dependent family members but are unwilling to extend similar preferential facility to our colleagues and subordinate staff," said Dr Lalwani in a letter to all head of departments.
“As such it is considered imperative that the institute employees, being a part of the AIIMS fraternity, ought to be given some reasonable preferential consideration when seeking consultation/treatment for themselves or their dependent family members. Accordingly, all heads of clinical departments/units are requested to advise the faculty members and residents in their respective department/unit to accord due priority to the institute employees/EHS beneficiary patients," he said.
Queries sent to a health ministry spokesperson remained unanswered till press time.
At AIIMS Delhi, there is a waiting period for more than six months in the departments of cardiology, radiology, renal transplant, among others.
Responding to queries from Mint, AIIMS spokesperson said, “This step has been taken only to provide fast-track the treatment procedure of AIIMS employees so that they can quickly attend to their duties. There have been many instances in the past when AIIMS employees such as technicians, doctors, nurses or even residents seeking treatment for themselves they have to wait for longer hours, due to which they remain away from their duty and department work also get delayed. Besides, for regular patients, we have taken multiple steps to ensure that they get proper and quick treatment at the institute. We have made labs services and investigations like MRI, CT-Scan, angioplasty etc 24/7 free of cost."
