New Delhi: To provide shelter for patients’ attendants, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, has provided land for the construction of 80 pagoda-like night shelters, while also planning a 3,000-bed rest house on a two-acre plot as a long-term solution. Appearing before the Delhi High Court, AIIMS counsel informed a bench of Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia that land had been handed over to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) as an immediate step, while the proposed rest house would serve as a permanent solution. The submissions were made in response to the court’s January 14 directions while hearing a suo motu petition on the plight of patients’ relatives living on the streets outside AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital.Also Read:AIIMS Delhi introduces free drug monitoring tests for epilepsy patientsThe proposed rest house will be built in Ansari Nagar West, with construction assistance from an Ahmedabad-based NGO.According to the Hindu, AIIMS also told the court that it has offered land to the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB) for erecting around 80 pagodas (tents). At present, the institution has shelter facilities that can house a total of 949 patients and their family members. Emphasising its “patient-centric” approach, AIIMS said it has created dedicated assistance teams, comprising two personnel from security agencies and two from shelter homes, to guide patients and their families in accessing available facilities. It has also proposed a dashboard to display vacancies in DUSIB shelters.
DUSIB, in its submission, said that 20 new pagoda-like shelters had already been set up near AIIMS and Safdarjung Hospital, with more to be installed soon. Additionally, 20 tents each have been erected near Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital and hospitals attached to Lady Hardinge Medical College.
The Delhi High Court directed authorities to cooperate with AIIMS in constructing the new shelter and urged that the facility be completed “at the earliest possible time.”
The HC urged the members of the Delhi High Court Bar Association to raise funds for the rest house in the same manner it did during the Punjab floods. “Activate members of the bar so that some kind of fund is donated,” the chief justice said, while asking all the authorities to cooperate with AIIMS in the construction of the rest house, reports TNIE.Also Read:AIIMS expert warns of rising mental health disorders in children aged 1-14The proposed measures are expected to provide much-needed relief to thousands of patients’ families facing freezing conditions while waiting for treatment at Delhi’s major medical institutions.
