Visakhapatnam: No space for poor at Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences

Visakhapatnam: The paid services at the Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences is a huge letdown for patients. The patients have to pay on par the charges with private hospitals.

According to the medical fraternity, empanelling this tertiary-care hospital under the ambit of DNVS could increase its reach and scope of services and they were pressing for a policy change.

After nearly a decade-long uncertainty, the Vims was made operational in March 2016. In-patient services were inaugurated on September 11 with a 50-bed capacity. But the hospital is hardly seeing 10 patients for in-patient services as many patients prefer private hospitals or other government hospitals over Vims.

In all, 33 doctors, who were deputed from government hospitals in Kakinada, Srikakulam and Visakhapatnam, are extending various super-specialty services, including neurosurgery, neurology, plastic surgery, endocrinology, orthopaedics and urology. The Vims had also procured about 50 staff nurses and state-of-the-art medical equipment worth Rs 25 crore.

The Central laboratory at the hospital provides an array of tests under one roof at very nominal prices. But at the end of the day, the paid services are discouraging the patients to opt for the Vims.

As per the initial plans, the Vims planned to have state-of-the-art medical facilities, comprising a medical college besides 18 super-speciality divisions and about 1,300 beds way higher than the existing King George Hospital. But due to fund constraints and neglect by the successive governments, the project was put on hold until the recent launch.

Even after the inauguration, the initial hiccups have been haunting it.
The purported move of attaching the Vims to Dr NTR University of Health Sciences was also dropped.

Vims OSD and HoD of Plastic Surgery of AMC and KGH, Dr P.V. Sudhakar, said that they have brought the issue to the notice of the officials.

“We hope the Vims would soon be included in the list of hospitals offering services under DNVS,” Dr Sudhakar added.