Creating a country
imbued with a scientific culture was Jawaharlal Nehru's dream,
and immediately after independence he prepared a grand design to
achieve it. Among the temples of modern India which he designed,
was a centre of excellence in the medical sciences. Nehru's dream
was that such a centre would set the pace for medical education
and research in Southeast Asia, and in this he had the wholehearted
support of his Health Minister, Rajkumari Amrit Kaur.
The health survey and development committee, chaired by Sir Joseph Bhore,
an Indian Civil Servant ,had in 1946 already recommended the establishment
of a national medical centre which would concentrate on meeting the need
for highly qualified manpower to look after the nation's expanding health
care activities . The dreams of Nehru and Amrit Kaur and the recommendations
of the Bhore Committee converged to create a proposal which found favor
with the government of New Zealand. A generous grant from New Zealand
under the Colombo Plan made it possible to lay the foundation stone of
All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in 1952.The AIIMS was
finally created in 1956,as an autonomous institution through an Act of
Parliament ,to serve as a nucleus for nurturing excellence in all aspect
of health care.
All-India Institute of Medical Sciences was established as an institution
of national importance by an Act of Parliament with the objects to develop
patterns of teaching in Undergraduate and Post-graduate Medical Education
in all its branches so as to demonstrate a high standard of Medical Education
in India; to bring together in one place educational facilities of the
highest order for the training of personnel in all important branches
of health activity; and to attain self-sufficiency in Post-graduate Medical
Education.
The Institute has comprehensive facilities for teaching, research and
patient-care. As provided in the Act, AIIMS conducts teaching programs
in medical and para-medical courses both at undergraduate and postgraduate
levels and awards its own degrees. Teaching and research are conducted
in 42 disciplines. In the field of medical research AIIMS is the lead,
having more than 600 research publications by its faculty and researchers
in a year. AIIMS also runs a College of Nursing and trains students for
B.Sc.(Hons.) Nursing post-certificate) degrees.
Twenty-five clinical departments including four super specialty centers
manage practically all types of disease conditions with support from
pre- and Para-clinical departments. However, burn cases, dog-bite cases
and patients suffering from infectious diseases are not entertained in
the AIIMS Hospital. AIIMS also manages a 60-beded hospital in the Comprehensive
Rural Health Centre at Ballabgarh in Haryana and provides health cover
to about 2.5 lakh population through the Centre for Community Medicine.
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