Bathinda Three weeks after it was inaugurated on December 23, All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) has decided to offer the traditional system of Indian medicine, popularly referred to as Ayush (Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa Rigpa and Homoeopathy). Currently, AIIMS Bathinda offers OPDs in 11 allopathic departments.
Dr Sameer Aggarwal, a senior faculty member at the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER), Chandigarh, and the nodal officer of the Bathinda AIIMS told HT that a team would soon visit AIIMS Rishikesh to learn the nuances of offering this line of treatment.
AIIMS Rishikesh had started Ayush OPD services in February 2017 and the institute has an expert team that offers this traditional treatment facility. The Rishikesh facility has also started basic research and is also conducting trials.
“The construction of an exclusive building complex for Ayush treatment is ready. Formalities to take over the 30-bed facility are underway and treatment in this alternative medicine system will be started soon,” Aggarwal claimed, adding that no deadline has been fixed for the launch of the Ayush complex. “Since the PGI that is mentoring AIIMS Bathinda, has no expertise in the alternative system of treatment, experts at AIIMS Rishikesh will be taken into the loop to design the programme. The process to hire experts for Ayush will be started soon,” said Aggarwal, adding that, “Multidisciplinary treatment services at AIIMS will be beneficial for the people of Bathinda and nearby regions.”