Infant girl’s surgery date fixed for 2023!

A four-monthold girl in need of immediate surgery to mend a hole in her heart has been given an operation date in 2023 by doctors at the All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS) here, citing that the institute is already running overloaded many times with patients waiting.

Usually, the waiting time for surgeries given at AIIMS ranges between two-three years. This time, however, the waiting time has been staggering.

Ram Kishor Chaurasia, a resident of Sarita Vihar in south Delhi, took his four-monthold daughter Trisha to the premier healthcare institute seeking treatment for a hole in her heart.

Her condition worsened and left her in need of an immediate surgery.

However, when Chaurasia was given a surgery date in 2023, he had no choice but to go to a private hospital.

Despite several attempts by the institute to shorten long queues by starting online registration and introducing the video clinic in 2016, wherein patients can seek opinions online, patients are still having to wait in long lines to get neurosurgery or cancer treatment.

“Whatever efforts have been taken to cut the awaiting time are seems to be futile, and some patients thronging the institute are even given the scheduled date of after eight years,” said an AIIMS official.

He further said that hospital has limited resources to handle cases, but the number of cases os continuously rising as most state-run hospitals are not performing up to the mark.

“Doctors at CTVS (Cardiothoracic and vascular surgery) unit informed us that they really do want to conduct operation and fix the issue, as patients needs immediate recuperation from the disorder my daughter has. But they could not make time, because the resources are limited and patients are many times more,” said the infant girl’s hapless father.

Chaurasia was advised to take Trisha to some other hospital to get the surgery.

According to sources, surgery for not only heart but even brain related disorders are given a long waiting time at AIIMS. It is reported that in many departments, the waiting time is more than three years.