HC seeks roadmap for resuming OPD services at AIMSS Chamiyana

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh govt plans to begin outdoor patient department (OPD) services at the Atal Institute of Medical Super Specialities (AIMSS) in Chamiyana, Shimla, using the existing infrastructure and ambulance service. In response, the Himachal Pradesh high court has directed the principal secretary of the health department to submit an affidavit outlining a clear roadmap for making the hospital fully operational.
Built at a cost of Rs 262 crore on the outskirts of Shimla, the AIMSS, Chamiyana was inaugurated by former chief minister Jairam Thakur on Sept 28, 2022. The high court, earlier on Aug 29, had to stop OPD services at AIMSS, Chamiyana due to lack of proper facilities. The HC had then directed to contiue OPD services at Indira Gandhi Medical College (IGMC), Shimla until a safe and motorable road to the AIMSS hospital was completed.
The division bench, comprising acting chief justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and justice Satyen Vaidya, during the resumed hearing of a case on Friday, directed the health secretary to bring clarity on various issues. These include how the health department plans to address the lack of parking space and facilities for attendants and caretakers, whether the canteen has been constructed over a sewage treatment plant, and what provisions and facilities are available to pick and drop hospital staff, particularly those in lower-level positions.
Project director of the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) informed the court that a 100-meter stretch of road, located within NHAI's right of way, would be made operational within two months. PWD engineer-in-chief informed that 200 meters road which comes within their purview would be linked with the 100-meter road and in every likelihood it shall be made operational by Jan 31, 2025.
The division bench also ordered SDM (rural) Shimla to personally appear before the court on the next date of hearing, along with the relevant record, as the court was informed that the owners of the buildings at Bhattakuffar, which is creating a bottleneck to the hospital at Chamiyana, have agreed to sell the part of their properties at a negotiated rate of Rs 12 lakh per biswa.
The health department has also been directed to apprise the court about the details of laboratories along with equipment, operation theaters, number of doctors and technicians and other paramedical staff posted in those operation theaters and provisions for disposal of bio-medical waste, liquid and other waste generated in the hospital. What are the provisions for proper auxiliary and ancillary services and what are the provisions for providing essential facilities such as medico legal services and autopsy? Availability of medicines along with the details of such medical shops also needs to be submitted to the court on the next date of hearing.
The health secretary also needs to answer whether diagnostic services like biochemistry, pathology and microbiology that are being offered are as per the requirement in the hospital and as per required norms? Whether the hospital has a blood bank and provisions for blood storage at Chamiyana? Whether dietary services for the inhouse patients are in place?