AIIMS and Objectives

The incremental improvement in the health sector is an ongoing process, as the demands on this count keep surfacing up. The government, time to time, upgrades the existing healthcare facilities and also starts new projects to cater to the needs of the people. But certain projects have a far reaching impact given the size and the kind of intervention it makes.

The AIIMS Awantipora is one such project. Given the size of the project and the impact it would make, it is an infrastructural leap for the health sector of the Kashmir division. The visit of the Health Minister Sakina Masood Itto to the site,  to get a first hand sense of the pace of work, must speed up the work on the project.

The emphasis on meeting the deadline is good, but it needs a close follow up so that the project is completed well in time. It is a general complaint here that government projects, big and small, generally miss deadline. Not to speak of the timelines proposed at the start of the time, multiple deadlines are missed till the project is actually completed.

So the first thing in this case is that the concerned Ministry should ensure meeting the deadlines currently set for it. Up ahead it is important that it serves the purpose it is meant for. Since the healthcare needs of the people in Kashmir division have exponentially increased, it is crucial that AIIMS functions  optimally.

It should be in the very scheme of things that the services are delivered in a professional manner. It should be in the basic design of the working of this institution that things are handled professionally. It shouldn't be just another hospital, but should introduce a different standard of service delivery.

One would wish that AIIMS Awantipora sets a standard that impacts other big hospitals in J&K. If that happens, it would be a great contribution of  this institution. To this end, the professionals that run this hospital need to follow global best practices. The objective of this hospital should be to deliver healthcare services in an institutional framework, and positively inform the entire space.