OPD will be open on January 22 for patients having appointments, according to AIIMS Delhi
The All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi reversed course on Sunday and said that patients having appointments on January 22 would still be able to access the outpatient department. Prior to the consecration event at the Ram temple on January 22, AIIMS Delhi had announced that it would be closed till 2:30 p.m., with the exception of urgent and emergency services.
“All staff are advised that the institution will be closed for a half-day on January 22 until 2:30 pm. It said, “It is requested that all Chiefs of Centers, Heads of Departments, Units, and Branch Officers notify all employees who work under them of this.”
There was a great uproar when similar warnings were sent out by other central government-run institutions, such as Safdarjung Hospital and Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital.
The move was harshly criticized by opposition politicians, who said that people’s lives were being put at risk because of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s “desperation for cameras & PR.”
MP Saket Gokhale of the Trinamool Congress for the Rajya Sabha said that “literally people sleeping outside in the cold at AIIMS gates waiting for an appointment.”
Gokhale said, “The impoverished and dying can wait because Modi’s desperation for cameras & PR is given priority.”
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Priyanka Chaturvedi responded to the notice on social media by writing, “Hello humans.” If you must get medical attention on the 22nd, please postpone it until after 2 p.m. since AIIMS Delhi will be closed to celebrate the arrival of Maryada Purushottam Ram.
“I wonder if Lord Ram would concur that health services are interrupted to welcome him,” she said. “Hey Ram, Hey Ram!”
In a newly issued office memorandum, AIIMS Delhi “In continuation with circular dated January 20 of this office, the outpatient department shall remain open to attend to patients with appointment in order to prevent any inconvenience to them and to facilitate patient care,”
It also said that all essential clinical care services will continue to run.
