The Visakha Institute of Medical Sciences—developed in the Health City in an area of 100 acres on the lines of the Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences of Hyderabad—will shortly get a super-speciality status.
After a brief visit to the VIMS and interacting with its Director C.V. Rao along with Director of Medical Education N. Subba Rao, Health Minister Kamineni Srinivas said here on Saturday that VIMS was getting over 500 outpatients daily a year after it was inaugurated by Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu.
Inordinate delay
Admitting that there was inordinate delay in throwing open VIMS to the public, the Minister said whatever was the reason now VIMS was able to serve the needs of patients not only from the city but also from the neighbourhood.
Kambhampati Haribabu, MP, said that despite a delayed start VIMS was now able to serve the public and assured that the existing facilities would be improved in the near future.
Except cardiology and cardiac surgery unit, it now has all the specialities.
Diagnostic services
A CT scanner, X-ray, ultra sound and colour Doppler were inaugurated at the Radiology and Imaging Department. The facilities, invested and managed by Dolphin Diagnostic Services in the PPP mode, were provided at a cost of Rs. 2.5 crore.
“We are in the process of installing MRI facility shortly involving an investment of Rs. 5 crore,” Dolphin managing director Suresh said.
C.V. Rao told The Hindu that the clinical services would be offered through cashless transactions for NTR Arogya Sri, State and Central government health scheme card holders.
For others, the services would be available at almost 50% to 60% less than private diagnostic services available in the city.
Dr Rao said that instead of doctors being outsourced to VIMS by the government, they proposed recruitment of 50 specialists.
